LaviKanda: 50 Prompts
by Ruyax
Summary: Title says it all.  50 prompts for Lavi and Kanda.  Not connected, sorta random, varying levels of closeness and seriousness, etc etc.  If you've read TLT you might know what to expect.
1. 2 AM

**Yes, yes, I know I'm still working on TLT, but this was completely spontaneous and demanded to be written. I was watching Fiddler on the Roof and I re-discovered my list of prompts. This is the first of fifty – much more than TLT, I know, but I'm going to try it. **

**These are all LaviKanda from D. Gray-Man (which I adore!) in varying degrees of closeness, varying degrees of intensity (no more than T, if even that), in all different genres and other stuff. In short, it's sort of another TLT, but possibly more actual-pairing-ish than it. **

**Here goes nothing. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>2 AM<span>

It's two AM and Kanda can't sleep. It's not unusual, this insomnia, but it's been happening more often recently. So he sits by the window all night, with no lights on in his room. He makes an impressionable picture, silver moonlight, brilliant blue hair, dark eyes set in an Asian face, the sword leaning against his shoulder as he gazes out into the night.

Finally, he loses his patience and leaves the window, exiting his room and moving silently down the empty hall, heading for the place where he knows he will find the only person he wants to see right now.  
>.<p>

The library is dark, but Kanda has no problem navigating, his eyes having adjusted long ago. He walks soundlessly between the rows and rows and rows of books, moving towards the alcove in the back, by a window, where the Bookman Junior spends his nights, reading and reading and writing and writing all night long. Sure enough, he's there, bent over a thick book, red hair gleaming in the candlelight. His one green eye is semi-glazed-over, not really reading any more, just staring blankly at the page. Kanda knows the look well. Lavi has a habit of staring out of windows, gazing into empty space. Thinking of things beyond what was around him. The baka is a lot smarter than he let on, really.

At the approach of Kanda, Lavi blinks and looks up, his eye focusing again, coming back to the world. "Yuu? What are you doing here?" The Bookman Junior looks at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's so late. You should go back to bed."

Kanda shakes his head, rolling his eyes slightly. "Couldn't sleep. I decided to come down here. Might as well have company if I'm going to be up all night."

Lavi knows that Kanda would never say something like that to anyone else. He is a solitary person, everyone knows that, but sometimes the samurai could almost enjoy the usagi's company. He's done this before, going to the library at midnight or past to do nothing but sit and meditate beside Lavi as the redhead does whatever Bookmen do all night. Although the usagi could be noisy and energetic at times, he could also be quiet, calm, a soothing presence. Though he can drive Kanda mad sometimes, and though Kanda will never admit it, he likes Lavi. He likes him much more than he lets on, and he especially likes this quieter side of the Bookman Junior. There is something about Lavi… he doesn't know what it is, but he likes it.  
>.<p>

Dawn found the library empty, save for two young men. One, a redhead with an eye patch, was slumped over an open book, his uncovered eye moving beneath his lid in dreams. The other, a Japanese man with long blue hair, sat on the floor, leaning against the back of the redhead's chair. A sheathed katana lay across his lap, his hands resting on it gently.

The librarian who finds them is quick to leave, knowing the samurai's temper. When the two leave an hour or two later, no one mentions a thing.

But two dawns later, they are in the same place, doing the same thing. The scenario repeats itself until it becomes the norm for Kanda to go down to the alcove in the library if he's still awake past midnight.

As he enters Lavi's field of vision, the Bookman looks up and smiles. "I've been waiting for you, Yuu."

Kanda rolls his eyes, but doesn't say anything. He simply sits down against the back of Lavi's chair and closes his eyes. Lavi grins and reaches back, running his fingers through the Japanese's long, silky hair. Any other time, he would have jerked back, gotten angry, snapped at the redhead to leave his hair alone.

But it's two AM, and for now, he'll let it go.

* * *

><p><strong>So, how was that? Yes, it's a first attempt at present-tense writing, and I apologize for any past-tense slipups. I'm sure there are some. <strong>

**As always, I love reviews. They motivate me to write more. I really hope you all like these, and maybe I'll get another one done while I watch the Grammies tonight. **

**Hope to see you soon!**

**- Ruyax**


	2. Lull and Storm

**WHOOO! Next chapter done! Yippee!**

'**Kay, I'm done ranting. In record time (I think), I present the next LaviKanda prompt. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Lull and Storm<span>

The storm has been raging all day. Rain lashes at the windows, thunder shakes the walls, and the flashing, spontaneous lightning leaves strange afterimages on the insides of eyelids. But there are two who haven't noticed the storm.

Lavi and Kanda are, once again, in the library. Kanda is sitting on a couch, trying to read a book. The operative word being _trying_. The redhead beside him is doing his best to distract him. It began with Lavi coming over to sit beside him with his own work, three enormous books, a quill and ink, and a lot of paper. But within ten minutes, it's all forgotten.

He begins with just glancing at what Kanda is reading. Then it moves to him leaning over to read over the samurai's shoulder. Then he abandons his reading completely to read Kanda's book, not noticing, or more likely, ignoring the dangerous tic that has developed in Kanda's eyebrow. Next, he scoots over a little, pressing against the bluenette's side and cuddling up to him. It just gets worse from there.  
>.<p>

"Usagi. Get. Off."

Lavi gives him a mocking grin, his one eye sparkling mischievously. "And what if I say no, hmm, Yuu-chan?"

Kanda growls. The Bookman is practically sprawled across his lap, cuddling against him, his arms wrapped around the samurai's neck. He's not sure how the baka got there, and he's even less sure how to get him off before someone comes in. it's not so much that he dislikes Lavi's current position – actually, he minds quite less than he's pretending to – it's just that if someone sees the two like this, his reputation for having a heart of stone will be out the window faster than you can say "_baka_".

"Oh, come on." Lavi laughs. "I know you're not mad." Kanda settles for another growl and an eye roll. He sort of _does_ like this, being with Lavi, with no one else around, but he really doesn't want to lose his image.

Kanda is still trying to decide what to do when Lavi decides he's tired with his current position. He moves so that he's completely on Kanda's lap, and burrows his face into Kanda's neck, nearly making the samurai yelp in surprise. His hands come up to pull the long blue hair out of its tie so he can run his fingers through it. Kanda would probably protest, except that he has a bit of a weakness when it comes to Lavi combing his hair or massaging his scalp. Anyone else would get their head bitten off, but this is Lavi. Therefore, he'll allow it. For a little bit.  
>.<p>

Lavi grins when he notices that the samurai he is currently sitting on has fallen asleep. Kanda's eyes had closed when the Bookman had started playing with his hair, and now he was fast asleep. His mouth is slightly open, lightly chapped lips looking so inviting Lavi can barely hold himself back.

But he knows that the samurai would kill himself if they are found like this, so no matter how much he likes his current position, he has to wake the bluenette up.

"Yuu." No response. "Hey, Yuu-chan." Still nothing. Kanda's eyes twitch beneath their lids, but he does not budge.

"Yuuu~" Lavi gives a little tug on Kanda's hair and his eyes snap open, though they are still blurred with sleep. "Whaa?" he mumbles, making Lavi giggle. Both know that Lavi is the only one who would ever see this side of Kanda, the sleepy, half-awake, softer side.

"It's time to go," Lavi says, quite reluctantly. "Jiji's gonna kill me if I stay here any longer."

Kanda mumbles a protest, but allows the redhead to stand and gather his abandoned books. Just before Lavi leaves, he glances out of the window. "Look, Yuu!" he exclaims, pointing. "The storm stopped!"

"About time," Kanda mutters. "Stupid thunder was giving me a headache."

Lavi laughs. Then, unable to help himself, he leans down and presses his lips against Kanda's, just for a moment. Then he pulls back and walks away, ignoring the look on Kanda's face. "Later, Yuu-chan!" he calls as he leaves the library.

Kanda growls, this time with impatience. Later indeed. He'd teach that rabbit. But for now, he thinks as he sits back on the couch and picking up his formerly abandoned book, he'll just enjoy the memory of falling asleep with the baka. If this was what storms did to him, maybe he'd enjoy them just a little more.

_Lightning headaches vs. Lavi cuddles. Lavi wins._

* * *

><p><strong>There. Done. I hope y'all like it. Reviews please?<strong>

**- Ruyax**


	3. Duty

**New chapter! Wow, I'm on a roll! I hope you guys are liking this series. **

**I don't like this one as much as 2 AM and Lull and Storm, but it's okay. It's the idea I'm after, so I hope you can read through the crap writing and see where I'm going with this. Enjoy it! **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Duty<span>

It is duty that makes them fight. When Lavi crushes some akuma beneath his hammer, when Kanda slices the monsters to bits with Mugen, this is them following orders. They tell themselves that they don't really care. Kanda hates everyone and Lavi has no attachment to anyone.

It is duty that makes them say that. Kanda is a stone-faced, cold-hearted bastard who has no feelings; Lavi is a Bookman who is there only to observe, who has no emotions concerning events or people. That is who they are.

Right?

They pretend it's true, but it's all fake, an illusion. No matter how many times Kanda says he can't stand the Moyashi, he still talks to him – mostly insults, yes, but still, he'll willingly be around him – and no matter how many times he says he'll kill the baka usagi for calling him "Yuu-chan", he knows he'll never do it. He acts cold to all but Lenalee, and he tells himself that of course it's because even he fears Komui in a sister-founded rage, and that it isn't just because he really does like the girl, her kindness and her courage, and everything in between.

As a Bookman, Lavi cannot have attachment to things or people. But he does. He likes being with Lenalee, he likes bothering Allen, he likes talking to Crowley, he likes Yuu for everything that he is and isn't. But he can't. He can't care, and it's getting harder and harder to hide it. He knows that this isn't just "Lavi" who's growing these attachments, it's the real him, who's starting to merge with "Lavi" and become him truly.

It is duty that makes them lie to others and to themselves. But sometimes, they can't lie.  
>.<p>

It is _not_ duty that makes Lavi listen to Lenalee's rants. It is _not_ duty that makes Kanda save Allen's stupid ass every time his martyr complex gets him into trouble. It is _not_ duty that makes Lavi want to save every human he sees from the monstrous things hiding in plain sight.  
>.<p>

It is not duty that made Lavi fall – however reluctantly, he is a Bookman, it is forbidden, but screw it – in love with Kanda. It is not duty that made Kanda fall – however reluctantly, he is stubborn, but whatever – in love with Lavi. There is more to life than duty, and they found that something more in each other. Red hair and a fiery hammer blend into deep blue eyes and a shining sword until they don't know who said what and who did what and who started it anyway, because they are one being now and who they were before no longer matters.

Screw duty. They're in love.

* * *

><p><strong>How was that? There is more to life than what you <strong>_**have**_** to do. … Like write fanfiction instead of cleaning. Erm. Hahaha. **

**Reviews? Seriously, I live for reviews. I'm not even kidding. Whenever I get a new review alert, I flail my arms and hop in circles (this is also what I do when I fangirl, or as close as I get). **

**I love every single one of you who has read this, and those who review are extra-special! **

**See you soon (very soon, at the rate I've been writing!)**

**- Ruyax**


	4. Explode

**Whew. Done. I had a little bit of writer's block at the end of this one. But anyway, it's done, as you can see. I'll shut up now. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Explode<span>

The battlefield was a crazy mess, Kanda thought as he threw himself into a side roll to avoid being hit with an akuma bullet. The bullet hit the ground and exploded, sending bits of shrapnel in all directions.

He ducked another bullet, sprang at the akuma, and released his Kaichu Ichigen. The akuma, along with the one beside it, were destroyed before they could fire again. Kanda turned his back on the settling dust that was all that remained of the two akuma, selecting a new target from the dozens that crowded around.  
>.<p>

As he slew akuma left and right, Kanda reflected on how he had wound up in this madness. He and Lavi had been on a mission in Lithuania, investigating a potential Innocence, when all these akuma had shown up from nowhere and attacked them. _I guess this means the Innocence rumor is real,_ the samurai thought as he slew another akuma, _because they'd never do this if it was a false lead._

Then the entire world exploded.

Kanda managed to do another Ichigen just before the blast hit him, diverting some of the force, but he was still knocked back quite hard. His head hit something as he landed, and everything went dark.  
>.<p>

Kanda opened his eyes. His head hurt like hell, but otherwise he felt fine. Any injuries he might have sustained were healed now, thanks to his curse. _Now there's an odd phrase_, he thought absently as he picked himself up, leaning slightly on Mugen. He was dizzier than he had expected to be, and he couldn't tell how long he'd been out.

Suddenly, a thought hit him. Lavi. Where was he? Kanda looked around, but he couldn't see anything except for charred ground and the dusty, splintered remains of akuma scattered around him. There was no sign of Lavi. Kanda couldn't see Lavi's scarf, or his hair, or his headband, or that crazy-ass hammer of his. The Bookman was a colorful person, and hard to miss even in a busy city, so he should have been easily noticeable in a place that was all shades of gray from the explosion.

_Where is he?_ The thought took over Kanda's mind, and even though he knew it was unreasonable – Lavi could take care of himself – he was worried. Why could he not see him? _Where is he?_

Kanda had been searching for fifteen minutes, and the fear was real now. Something had to have happened. Lavi wouldn't hide like this, not if he was all right. Something was wrong.

When he finally spotted the bright orange of Lavi's scarf, Kanda was so relieved. He ran to it and found Lavi lying partly beneath a dead akuma's shell. The Bookman's eyes were closed and there was blood on his face. He was motionless, and that scared Kanda more than anything.

"Lavi!'

With some effort, the samurai dragged the akuma shell off Lavi, then knelt at the redhead's side. He now saw that the blood was from a cut on the side of Lavi's face, deep but not large, most likely caused by the explosion earlier.

He was breathing, but his body was limp in Kanda's arms. "Lavi. Lavi, wake up. Lavi!" Kanda could not keep the panic out of his voice.

The Bookman stirred slightly, and Kanda's relief was overwhelming when he saw the single green eye flutter open to meet his panicked dark ones. "Yuu…" Lavi tried to get up, only to get pushed roughly back down. "Don't move," Kanda snapped. "Are you hurt?" His voice was softer this time.

Lavi gave him a faint smile. "A little bruised and battered, but I'm okay." At the look Kanda gave him, he reached up to touch Kanda's cheek lightly. "Really, Yuu. I'm fine." This time, when he tried to stand, the samurai didn't try to stop him. When he saw the way Lavi wobbled a little on his feet, though, Kanda put one of Lavi's arms around his shoulders to support him, and Lavi didn't protest.  
>.<p>

Hours later, in a dingy hotel room somewhere far away from the blast site, neither man speaks as Kanda opens the first aid kit. There are no words exchanged as the samurai gently – more gently than he'd ever be with anyone else – bandages the cut on Lavi's cheek. When he's done, Lavi gives him a light butterfly kiss on the cheek before going to bed.

This is their peace. Quiet moments between battles, spent more often than not in hotels or trains or camping in the woods than back at the Order, but it doesn't seem to matter very much where they are. All that matters is that they have each other. Lavi and Kanda, Kanda and Lavi, that is all that matters. If they are together, they can get through anything.

No explosion, no matter how great, can keep them apart.

* * *

><p><strong>Mmkay, that's it. Hopefully I'll get the next one done over my little break and get it up soon. <strong>

**Blah blah blah, please review, it makes me feel happy, blah blah blah. **

**I want to say thank you to all reviewers, especially GGL-HY, whose review made me flail happily in my seat and nearly knock things off the table. I really do appreciate each and every reviewer. **

… **I need to shut up again. **

**- Ruyax**


	5. Animal

**I'm baaack!**

**It feels like this one took for **_**ever**_**, even though I posted Explode just a few days ago. It may be in part because I was trying to write this while watching Step Up 2 (great movie, and gave me a fanfiction idea that I may or may not act on) and Kung Fu Panda 2 (that one was my brother's idea. It was funny, I have to admit. But no story ideas from it). **

**Anyway… on to the story! Enjoy! **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Animal<span>

It had been looking hopeless. There'd been no other word for it. There had been too many akuma, too many bullets, too much noise, too many explosions. Too many enemies.

If that had been hopeless, Kanda didn't know what word to use for how it was now. Lenalee had been thrown into a rock a while ago and while Kanda knew she was alive, she was definitely unconscious and therefore out of action. Lavi had sustained what Kanda suspected was a broken right ankle, but was still fighting, fire and lightning flashing around him, trying to defend Lenalee from the dozens of akuma who were trying to take advantage of the helpless exorcist. Allen had taken on ten akuma at once, and even with Crown Clown, it looked like he was losing. Kanda swore loudly as he saw how many more akuma there were. _I'm getting tired, Lenalee's out, Allen's going to fall out any second now, and Lavi can barely stand, much less keep fighting. We're going to lose. _

The realization came a moment after the thought. _We're going to lose. We really are going to lose. There are way too many akuma. We don't stand a chance._ As he thought this, Allen staggered and fell beneath the onslaught of akuma. He was only saved from being turned to dust then and there by a combination of a Kaichu Ichigen from Kanda and a Hiban from Lavi, which destroyed the akuma around him. There was no time to be relieved, though, since they were just replaced by some of the hundreds of others gathered around them.

Then another realization hit him. _Yes, we do. It's madness, but we're all going to die anyway if I don't._

Lavi was clinging to consciousness. He'd broken bones before, of course, but breaking your ankle and running and jumping around on said broken ankle were two completely different things. He could barely see straight through the pain, and it was getting harder and harder to lift his hammer. AS well as defending himself, he was trying to protect Lenalee and Allen.

_Are we going to lose?_

And then he saw Kanda. _Oh, shit._

Kanda had activated Sangenshiki. He was radiating blue-black energy, and Lavi could see the telltale lines radiating around his eyes, even from this distance.

Kanda bellowed with rage and became a blur, Mugen flashing around him in dizzying patterns. Akuma fell in droves as Kanda seemed to fly about the battlefield, too fast to follow.

In moments, the tide of the battle had turned. The akuma, realizing their failure, scattered, trying to flee, but were cut down from behind as Kanda continued his rampage. Lavi could only stare in shock. He knew about Sangenshiki, but he had never seen it. He knew that it drained Kanda's life force, and that it was extremely powerful and extremely dangerous to use.

The akuma were almost all gone, but Kanda hadn't deactivated Sangenshiki. Lavi had a moment to wonder why before he saw Kanda's eyes.

The samurai's eyes were wide and blank. There was no emotion, no thought, no feeling in them. _It's like looking into the eyes of a corpse_, Lavi thought, and suppressed a shudder. _That's Kanda's body, but as they say, "nobody's home." He's just fighting mindlessly. _

As this thought was entering Lavi's mind, he watched Kanda turn slowly in a circle, seeking another opponent to fight. The dark, empty eyes settled on Allen as the boy struggled into a sitting position. The whitehead glanced up as Kanda approached him, and Lavi saw relief on his face, replaced by confusion when he saw Sangenshiki. The confusion changed to fear as Kanda raised his sword.

"Kanda?" Allen said hesitantly. Then, alarmed, "Kanda –!" as the sword began to come down.  
>.<p>

_No._

Faster than he had ever done in his life, Lavi extended his hammer, flying across the stretch of ground between Kanda and Allen and him, landing heavily – he nearly passed out when his broken ankle hit the ground – and swung the hammer into a blocking position, taking the blow to the hammer handle held between his hands. He staggered – again landing on the broken ankle and swearing under his breath – then he dropped the hammer, ignoring Allen's cry of alarm.

Lavi stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Kanda. "It's okay, Yuu," he whispered in Kanda's ear as he felt the samurai's body tense beneath his hands. "It's okay. The fight's over, the akuma are gone, we're okay."

"_I'm_ okay," he added, much more quietly.

He watched as Kanda's eyes softened – just a little, but it was enough – and felt him relax. Then the samurai's eyes fluttered closed and he went limp.

In another situation, Lavi might have been able to hold Kanda up – the Japanese was thin and he was strong from wielding that giant hammer all the time – but right now he was exhausted and injured and his foot felt like he'd stuck it in acid and he probably couldn't have kept himself up, much less the other male.

Faster than he intended to, he lowered them both to the ground, slumping to the side to avoid landing on his ankle. He turned to see Allen staring at them, probably still in shock from nearly getting killed by his own comrade. Maybe he was surprised that Lavi had been able to stop him just with a touch and a few soft words.

"Hey, moyashi."

His voice seemed to snap the beansprout out of his shock or whatever he was in. The boy's gray eyes blinked, startled, and he shook his head a little to rid himself of the dizziness that was taking over him – probably caused by being thrown on the ground by one of the akuma.

"Get Timcanpy to call for medics. We're not going anywhere." Lavi gestured at Lenalee, still unconscious a few yards away from them, at Allen, who had made an attempt to stand and evidently decided that lying down was the better option, and at himself and Kanda. He didn't know how much damage Kanda had taken, but whatever wounds he had sustained, along with the activation Sangenshiki, definitely meant a visit to the hospital wing. Lavi knew that he himself certainly wasn't getting up any time soon, and he had other injuries as well. As he spoke, his words were slightly slurred. He was getting dizzy too. As he noticed this, his body decided that now would be a good time to take a nap. He hardly noticed falling sideways to land in a somewhat uncomfortable position on the ground, nor did he pay any attention to the way the world grew dark at the edges. He was tired, dammit, and he wanted to sleep.  
>.<p>

Kanda opened his eyes to a stark white ceiling and the smell of antiseptic. _Hospital. Again._ He sighed.

Slowly, memories came back to him. Memories of explosions and shouting, of far too many akuma, of seeing Lenalee thrown a clear four yards into a rock, of seeing the baka moyashi try to fight ten akuma at once and losing, of fire and lightning and pieces of shattered rocks flying through the air, of his own Kaichu, of Lavi –

_Lavi!_

He sat up quickly, a little too quickly, he thought as the room spun around him. Now back to his starting position of lying flat, he couldn't stop thinking. He knew Lavi had been hurt too, and that it was just him and Kanda who were still fighting. But it was looking more and more as if they wouldn't make it out of the battle in one piece, if even alive. So Kanda had activated Sangenshiki, and then there was nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing, and then waking up in this sterile, empty hospital room.

_Where is Lavi?_ Kanda couldn't stop thinking about the Bookman Junior. _What happened after I activated Sangenshiki?_

Without warning, the door opened, and Kanda nearly fell out of his bed. But it wasn't an enemy that walked through the door. It was Lavi.

Well, okay, he didn't walk. More like _hopped_ through the door, since he was using a pair of wooden crutches to move. His ankle – _I knew it was broken_, Kanda thought – was wrapped in white bandages.

"Lavi!" Kanda couldn't keep the relief out of his voice. The redhead grinned. "Hey, Yuu-chan, how ya doin'?"

Kanda stared at the floor. For some reason, he couldn't, or didn't want to meet the other's eyes. Lavi noticed the change – _He's a Bookman, you idiot. Of course he's going to notice anything_ – and his grin faded. He hopped over to Kanda's bed and sat down on the edge of it.

"Yu." Kanda looked up, deep, dark eyes locking with a single brilliant green one. "What's wrong?"

Kanda broke the eye contact, looking down at his hands. "What happened, Lavi?" At the silence that met his question, the samurai looked up again. "During the fight. I remember activating Sangenshiki, but after that –" he broke off. "There's nothing, nothing until I wake up here. What did I do?"

Both of them knew the havoc Kanda could wreak when he was using Third Illusion. Both knew the danger to Kanda himself, the drain on his life, and both knew that he'd never lost control like this before.

"Nothing." Lavi's soft voice made Kanda look up at him again. "You didn't do anything, Yuu. You fought the akuma, drove them away and saved us all." Lavi decided to tell the whole truth. He sighed. "And you tried to kill Allen."

The shock on Kanda's face proved what Lavi had already known. No matter how much Kanda swore he hated the moyashi, he clearly liked him enough to have long arguments with him, to work with him in battle, to protect him when the whitehead's stupid martyr complex made him do something stupid. Killing him just wasn't something Kanda would do. Ever. And the look on the bluenette's face proved it.

"Calm down, Yuu. I said you _tried_. I stopped you before you could do anything bad."

Kanda breathed a sigh of relief. The moyashi was an idiot, he would never say any different, but _killing him_? In the middle of a battle? Maybe he'd consider it if the baka had done something dumb, or gotten on his nerves, but Kanda didn't turn on his comrades. No matter how much he hated the idiot, they were on the same side. And he had to admit that Allen's Innocence had come in handy more than once. Then another thought occurred to him.

"Wait. How the hell did you _stop_ me when I was in _Third Illusion_?" The Japanese couldn't get his mind around the idea that Lavi could stop an attack from him when he was using Sangenshiki.

Lavi gave a mischievous grin. "Oh, I have my ways…" he trailed off, leaving a baffled Kanda to try to figure out how the Bookman Junior had done it.

Lavi decided to abandon conversation and began to wriggle into the bed beside Kanda. He stayed on top of the covers, because with a broken ankle, it was just _way_ too much work to try and crawl underneath, no matter how much he wanted to.

He ignored Kanda's surprised noise and finished making himself comfortable by wrapping his arms around the other, in much the same way he had done the day before – Kanda sure did sleep a lot after using Sangenshiki – but now, it was so much better. Now, Kanda was sane, normal (as normal as Kanda got), relaxed, and even cuddling back. Just a little. He _was_ Kanda Yuu, after all. "Cuddle" just wasn't his thing.

At least when it came to anyone other than Lavi.  
>.<p>

Kanda sighed, resigned to his fate as Lavi's snuggle-toy. Anyone besides Lavi would have found their head separated from their body if they had tried anything like this, but Lavi was Lavi and seemed to find some way around all of Kanda's rules.

He decided to forget about the battle, just for a minute, and return just a bit of Lavi's affections. Not a lot, of course. He _was_ Kanda Yuu, after all. He had a reputation to uphold.

But no one would be coming in any time soon, so it was okay for him to cuddle back. Right?

Kanda might be an animal sometimes, but Lavi could always tame him.

* * *

><p><strong>Longer than the others, yes, but I hope you liked it. School starts again on Monday, so I'll have to be doing that instead of writing this (stupid time-consuming school), but I hope the next one will be up soon. <strong>

**Again, review if you liked it, blah blah blah, thank you so much to all who reviewed – I love you soooo much! – and… yeah. Bye. **

**- Ruyax**


	6. Rip

**Chapter 6! Yay!**

**I know, I know, it's short (especially compared to Animal), but it was all I had for it. I hope you like it anyway. **

**This one was written while I watched the Oscars last night. **

… **This series seems to like being written while attempting to distract me with movies and award shows and stuff. Or maybe it's my family who's trying to distract me. …**

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Rip<span>

Kanda was hypnotized. His eyes moved up and down and up and down and up and down…

Lavi glanced sideways and suppressed a giggle. The blue-haired samurai beside him was nearly cross-eyed, watching Lavi's needle move through the green and black fabric of his headband.

The Bookman was currently mending a large tear in the headband, his bright orangeish-reddish hair falling unbound over his face. Every few minutes, he blew upward in a futile attempt to keep it out of his eye so he could see. He couldn't understand why Kanda found his sewing so captivating, but it was definitely entertaining.

He kept watching the samurai out of the corner of his eye. He'd always said Kanda was a cat, and here was yet more proof. The man was completely unable to tear his eyes away from the shiny needle as it slid up and down through the thick fabric.

When Lavi paused in his sewing to re-thread the needle, Kanda blinked, as if the hypnotic spell that had been upon him had been broken. He shook his head slightly and tried to go back to the meditation he had been doing before the shiny needle had caught his attention.

Not a minute later, though, one dark eye slid open to watch the needle. The other eye followed soon after, and within five minutes Kanda was back to his original position, slightly hunched over to get a better view of the thread. Lavi hid a smile, but said nothing.

Ten minutes later, when Lavi finished, he pretended not to notice the slightly disappointed look on Kanda's face as he tied off the thread.

Kanda went back to meditating, and both pretended nothing happened. A few minutes later, though, as Lavi was packing up his sewing kit, Kanda spoke, his eyes still shut.

"I didn't know you could sew."

Lavi smiled, winking. "I'm a Bookman, Yuu. I can do anything."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far. Out of all my (three) fanfictions so far, this one has gotten the most reviews (and wonderful reviews they all have been!). And there are still 44 chapters left to go! (sigh…)<strong>

**I love all of you. D. Gray-Man for ever!**

**- Ruyax**


	7. FightFlight

… **I don't really have much to say today. Here's chapter 7. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>FightFlight

A good warrior knows how to fight. They know their abilities, their limitations. They know how to handle their body, and their weapon.

But a good warrior also knows when they're beat. They know when they have come up against an opponent who's stronger than they are. They know when to give in.  
>.<p>

Kanda is a good warrior. Better than good. His limits are so far beyond an unaltered human's, and his healing abilities so much faster, that he can continue fighting for much longer, and much harder.

He's like a pit bull. Once he's gotten into a fight, there is no way he'll surrender. The word isn't even in his vocabulary. He'll fight to the death, although it's never gone quite that far. He will never run from a fight, and he will never give in once one has started. That's how Kanda fights. And that's how he always will.  
>.<p>

Lavi is a good warrior. Better than good. But he's different from Kanda. He watches out for his partners in battle. With only one eye, he watches himself, his enemy, and his friends. If someone is in trouble, he'll help them. It's just what Lavi does.  
>.<p>

Kanda will never back down. But Lavi will. He can tell when they're losing, when they need to retreat, and he will always get them out. In Edo, when they were attacked by the giant super-akuma, he fought it. He would have given his life to keep the others safe, and in the end, he had nearly done so. The combined intervention of Chomesuke and Kanda had saved him, and the others as well.

This is not to say that Lavi is a coward. There is a difference between knowing when you must retreat and simply fleeing out of cowardice. He has probably saved Kanda and the other's lives more than once, just because he can tell when it is wiser to leave than to continue fighting. Sometimes, flight is not an option, though, and in that case, the Bookman can become a fearsome fighter, determined to keep himself and his friends alive.  
>.<p>

It is always a question of balance in battle. Stay or go? Fight or flight? Both carry the risk of death, and it takes a good eye to judge a battlefield and know whether to continue fighting, or turn tail and run.

Lavi and Kanda fight well together. They guard each other's backs, and either one will help the other if they need it, although Lavi is usually more willing to lend a hand than Kanda. They hold the balance between them, and though fight is chosen far more often than flight, the other is still an option they will take if necessary. Kanda is proud, and is not one to flee from a fight on his own, though, and Lavi is usually the only one who can convince the samurai to retreat.

Lavi and Kanda. Kanda and Lavi. No matter whether they choose fight or flight, they will survive.

* * *

><p><strong>Grmnrmnrm. <strong>

**I don't particularly like this one, and it's very ramble-y, but it was all I could come up with for this prompt. I hope you can read through the confusing writing nonsense and see what I was trying to get to. **_**Trying **_**being the operative word. **

… **Whatever. **

**Review and stuff. Thank you.**

**- Ruyax**


	8. Acid

**Phooey. I don't really like this one either, but it was the first thing that came to mind for this prompt. I feel like it just goes on and on and doesn't really have a point, but whatever. It's over and done with now, and hopefully I'll like the next few better than I have this and the last one. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Acid<span>

The battlefield was a mess of shattered pieces of rock and splintered tree trunks. There were only five akuma, but two were level twos and had dangerous abilities. One, a low-lying lizardlike akuma with seven eyes, shot bullets that exploded on contact, sending jagged pieces of shrapnel everywhere. The other, a female-looking monstrosity with twelve legs and far too many fingers on her four arms, spat a violet liquid that melted wood and stone where it landed, leaving little pockmarks in the ground.

Kanda spat dust from his mouth and sent a Kaichu Ichigen towards two of the level ones. One was killed, but the other dodged the demonic insects and shot them down from a safer distance. Then it turned to Kanda, but before it could make a move, it was flattened by a ridiculously oversized hammer, edged in fire, that came out of the sky. Kanda snorted at the baka and his idea of a weapon, turning to dodge one of the acid shots that came from the feminine akuma. It hit one of the few trees that were still standing. When the smoke cleared, the tree had a large hole in the trunk and looked to be in danger of falling over.

"Yuu! Duck!" Kanda wasn't sure where the voice came from, but he obeyed anyway, dropping to the ground just as a giant serpent made of flames flew over him towards the akuma. She – was it a she? It looked like it – leapt out of the way, though she was burned on half of her body anyway. She screeched in rage and spat more acid, although it missed both Kanda and Lavi.

Kanda stood again and turned to see Lavi behind him. The Bookman shook the hair out of his eyes and gave him a lopsided smile. "They're getting annoying, huh?"

Kanda growled. "No duh, idiot!"

Lavi laughed. "Then let's get this over with!" He raised his hammer again, this time lightning sparking in the air around it. Kanda knew well enough to get out of the blast range, and just made it before an explosion of fire and lightning lit the battlefield. It was beautiful, watching Lavi. It was amazing to watch. No matter how often he laughed at the Bookman and his oversized carpentry tool, it was definitely something to see in battle. Fire and lightning and more, combined with the size of the weapon itself, destroyed the battlefield, but somehow the redhead was able to control it enough to never hurt any of his friends. It impressed Kanda quite a bit, though he'd never say it out loud.

The battle went on for some more time – Kanda wasn't sure how long exactly, but it was longer than it should have. The akuma were being particularly slippery, just dodging his and Lavi's attacks.

Kanda was engaged in a tangle with one of the level ones, a particularly large one who was being especially stubborn and just wouldn't die. Suddenly, Lavi's voice broke through his concentration.

"Yuu! Look out!"

Kanda whirled to see the lizardlike level two charging him from behind. He shouted and raised Mugen just in time to block one of its exploding bullets. He knocked it away, but some of the pieces still hit him, one in his leg, another in the ribs and two more in his arm. The samurai bit back a cry of pain and slashed at the akuma, cutting of one of its legs. It howled and looked like it was going to bite Kanda, except that at that moment, a very large, very familiar black block on a stick came flying past him and squashed the lizard akuma flat. Kanda spun back around to see Lavi grinning stupidly at him. "You're lucky I can reach so far, Yuu-chan, or you might have been lizard-food!"

Kanda was about to make some smartass reply when he looked behind Lavi.

"Lavi!" Then everything happened too fast.

The female akuma reared up behind Lavi, and before he could even turn around, she spat the burning violet liquid at him.

The Bookman tried to dodge, tried to throw himself to the side to escape, but she was too fast, and he tripped on a rock in the jagged ground. Some of the acid missed, but some splattered on his right shoulder.

Kanda bolted. He leapt over Lavi as he fell, choking on a scream, and threw himself on the akuma. She wasn't expecting him to move so fast – Second Exorcists were both faster and stronger than normal humans – and didn't have time to spit or slash at him with her claws. He tore her in half with a single strike from Mugen, and had forgotten her before her dust had hit the ground. His attention was elsewhere.  
>"Lavi!"<p>

In an instant, he was by the Bookman's side. Lavi's face was very pale, his breathing ragged. The back and side of his shirt were soaked with blood. Kanda quickly cut away the fabric, trying to ignore the sounds Lavi was making. His one eye was squeezed shut, and one hand had fisted itself tightly in Kanda's shirt, holding onto him as if for life.

"It's all right, Lavi, it's okay, you'll be fine," Kanda was talking just as much to himself as to Lavi, trying to reassure them both. The wound was both deep and wide, spreading all across his shoulderblade. He swore softly. That stuff was acid, all right, and it worked just as well on flesh as it did on wood and stone. _We have to get to a hospital. This is bad_.

Until that point, Kanda hadn't noticed how badly he himself was hurt. When he tried to stand, holding Lavi up, since the redhead was nearly unconscious, he nearly fell straight back over. The metal pieces that had hit him earlier, a parting gift from the lizardlike level two, were throbbing, and blood soaked his clothes around the wounds. _Forget bad. I don't know if we'll make it back in this state_, he thought, testing his walking abilities. Not so good. He looked at Lavi, who seemed to be trying to stand on his own, though he wasn't quite succeeding. _Screw it, we're going to get back safely. No matter what._

_._

It takes them forever and a day to get back to the town. Neither can walk on their own, so they end up holding each other up, Kanda being careful of Lavi's ruined shoulder, Lavi keeping away from the fragments still lodged in Kanda's shoulder and side. By the time they enter the town, Kanda is staggering and trying to keep his eyes open, and Lavi can't see straight through the pain burning through his limp arm.

Their finder sees them and nearly falls over herself getting to them. She arranges for a car to take them to the nearest hospital, where the doctors remove the shrapnel embedded in Kanda and clean and bandage Lavi's acid-burned shoulder.

They spend two days in the hospital, though Kanda is recovered in one. They return to the Order four days after their encounter with the akuma.

.

It's been a week since they got back, and they are once again in the library. This time, though, they aren't there for any other reason than to sit on a couch in the sunlight. Kanda's arm is around Lavi, though he is careful not to touch his shoulder, which is still bandaged. Lavi's head is resting on Kanda's chest, the samurai's steady heartbeat filling his head. Both have their eyes closed. There is no need to keep them open. Both are tired and sleepy, and there is no danger nearby. It is one of the few times in their lives where they can relax completely, and they are going to take advantage of it.

* * *

><p><strong>There. Done. I still don't like it, but whatever. <strong>

**Note: Because of annoying, unimportant things like school and homework and life, whose purposes are to keep me from writing, this story will likely slow to around weekly updates. There may be times where I can get two chapters in one week, but expect a one-week-one-chapter sort of thing for now. **

**Oh well. If you liked it, that's great. See y'all soon. **

**- Ruyax**


	9. Color

**Yeek! I nearly forgot to update! **

**As you can see, I remembered just in time to post this week's oneshot. Sorry for doing another reflective one, but the next one will have some actual stuff happening, rather than this sort of still-life thing I tend to do. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Color<span>

They are different. One is an explosion of color, red and black and green, full of energy. The other is made of shadows, black and blue, silent and deadly.

Kanda likes to watch Lavi interact with other people. He gets along well with everyone, and makes friends instantly. Kanda is particularly grateful for this when they are on missions together. Lavi deals with all the other people, including whatever finders are stuck with them, and Kanda can focus on what he needs to do.

His clothes match his personality, Kanda thinks. He's a bright, colorful person who likes to be around other people and make a nuisance of himself whenever he can. The mess of reddish-orange hair, the green-scaled headband, the coal black coat and snow white pants, the orange scarf, the black eyepatch, hiding secrets beneath it, the brilliant green eye full of life and energy, it all combines to make a blinding burst of a person, loud and obnoxious and – cute?

Lavi likes to watch Kanda when the other thinks that there is no one watching him. Then the samurai's guard drops a little, and Lavi can see through the cracks of his bad temper and threatening personality into another person, the Yuu he knows and loves. Kanda's eyes soften a little, his body relaxes, and he doesn't look so angry. Kanda is made of black and blue, shadows and silence. His blue hair and blue-black eyes match the black and silver of his exorcist coat, and Mugen's silver-blue blade and energy completes the image. Kanda can move without sound, can hold so still that he becomes one with the dark, sweeping shadows that cross the ground at night, can attack so quickly and so silently that his opponent never even realizes that they are dead until they hit the ground. He is beautiful in battle, and sometimes Lavi has to remind himself that he has to actually _fight_, not just sit there like a lovestruck idiot and stare at him. Although he's pretty sure that Kanda would say that he was a lovestruck idiot no matter what he did.

Even their weapons match. Kanda's Mugen, swift and silent, black, blue, and silver, a deadly flash of steel. Lavi's hammer, enormous and impossible to ignore, with his explosive fire seal and blinding lightning seal, and all the others, each one different, dangerous, beautiful – at least, if you weren't on the receiving end. Then maybe the fire and lightning wasn't so pretty.  
>.<p>

Some might have said that they were opposites, that they didn't go together, that it would never have worked between them. Suffice to say, they were wrong.

It's funny how well a shadow and a fireburst can go together.

* * *

><p><strong>Um. The end? It's short, but the next one will have two parts, so it'll probably be longer. <strong>

**This is still not one of my favorites, but if you liked it, then great. **

**- Ruyax**


	10. Rise

**Chapter 10! I'm 1/5 of the way there! **

… **Now I'm depressed. This is going to take for **_**ever**_**! Why on earth did I have to choose to do **_**50**_** of these things?! This is ridiculous. **

**Whatever. I hope you all won't get tired of me ('cause I am). **

**As I said, here's chapter 10 of the terribly titled LaviKan series. Have fun. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Rise<span>

"Yuu?"

"Hn."

"I'm cold."

The samurai sighed and sat up to take off his jacket, but the redhead beside him made an irritated noise of protest and yanked him back down. "I don't want your jacket, dummy. I want to _cuddle_."

Kanda snorted. _Baka_. Lavi liked to use words like cuddle, mostly because they made Kanda feel a little bit awkward. Kanda Yuu did not _cuddle_. He was a heartless swordfighter and did not do things like _snuggle_ or _cuddle_. Unfortunately, Lavi was not Kanda, and therefore did do things like _snuggle_ and _cuddle_. And because he was Lavi, he was able to get Kanda to do it too. He sighed and leaned back down beside the Bookman, who promptly tried to burrow his way through Kanda's shoulder.

They were pretending. Lavi and Kanda both were pretending that there was nothing wrong, nothing different about today. This wasn't terribly unusual, their going up onto the roof of the Black Order's Europe Branch to watch the sun rise. They were both pretending that this was a dawn of a normal day.

But it wasn't. Today was different. Today was the official beginning of the war against the Earl. The Order was going to war.

Now, though, it was just barely dawn, and no one was up yet. Everyone was trying to savor the last few moments of what couldn't really be called peace but that they all pretended was.

And Lavi and Kanda were on the roof. They'd spent the night there, at Lavi's insistence. They looked at the stars and each other, and talked about everything and nothing. They, too, were trying to pretend that it would all be okay. They were both strong and smart and experienced, and there was no reason to think that they might die in the coming war. But there was also no reason to think that they might survive. There were thousands of akuma, and many level threes and fours. There had always been a chance that they might miss, or not see an attack from behind. There had always been the possibility of death; the Order had been fighting a war against the Earl for centuries. But now it was official. It was War.

_It's not war yet,_ Lavi thought firmly, inhaling Kanda's comforting scent. _For now, it's just me and Yuu, and nothing else. We're just two people watching the sun rise on the rooftop._

_It's not war yet,_ Kanda thought, turning away from the beautiful sunrise to look at the boy beside him. _For just a little while longer, let us stay like this. We don't need anything else_.

And then there was the thought of dying. Of the other dying. If one died, would the other survive, regardless of their physical state of health?

Lavi tried to forget these thoughts. He could hear Kanda's heart beating against his ear, strong and steady. A heartbeat that powerful couldn't be stopped so suddenly, right?

Kanda tried to forget these thoughts. He could feel Lavi's weight leaning against him, feel his chest expand and contract with each breath. Lavi wasn't weak. Lavi would be fine, right?

_We will survive. We always have, and there's no reason to think that we won't this time around. We have each other, and that's enough._

* * *

><p>.<p>

* * *

><p>"Yuu?"<p>

"Hn."

"I'm cold."

Kanda sighed, his breath a white cloud in the air. "No duh, baka. It's the middle of winter."

Lavi laughed, then winced. His hand went to his side, moving carefully over the bandages that hid under his shirt. "I know. But I needed this." Looking at Kanda, he added, "We both needed this."

It was dark, dark enough that Kanda had to move carefully to make sure he didn't slip and break his neck. Likely, he wouldn't heal from that.

The samurai's mouth quirked up just a little. The war had taken many things from the Order. One of those was yet more of his ever-dwindling life force.

_The war was over._ It was still hard for Kanda to understand what those words meant. It was done. Finished. The end.

Except it wasn't. Officially, the Black Order had won. But that was a lot easier to believe on paper. As Lavi said, no one really wins a war. Too many had died for Kanda to feel like it had really been a victory. He had always acted like he hated everyone, but now that they were dead, there were some that he realized he didn't really hate so much. It was hard to say, but he missed them. None of them had deserved to die.

But still. The Order had won. The war was over, and the Earl was defeated.

And Lavi was still alive. Kanda knew that if the Bookman had been killed, he would have had no wish to live. But both had survived, and now they were back in the same place they had been at the start of the war, both still mostly intact, to watch the sun rise on the first day of peace.

They sat down after brushing the snow away from the space. It was the same spot that they had sat in the last time. So much had changed since then, it was hard to comprehend. Small things, big things. Kanda had to sit carefully, trying not to jar his leg, which was stubbornly healing _slowly_, rather than at the rate Kanda was used to. Lavi sat beside him and cuddled against him. Both were careful of his side, which was healing at the normal speed (which was ridiculously slow, in Kanda's eyes), but was still not completely healed. Kanda accepted the cuddle, and maybe even cuddled back. Just a little. He had learned to value Lavi, far more than before, because he had survived, when he could have just as easily died. Like so many had. Mortality had always been a weird thing to Kanda, being practically immortal, though just for a limited period of time. He had always kept a distance from people, but in the few years before the war, he had started to make friends and care about people, although he didn't show it the way Lavi and Lenalee and Allen did. And then the war started, and so many people died, human and exorcist and akuma.

But Kanda had survived, and so had Lavi. They were both alive and mostly well, and that was all that Kanda really cared about.

_Who was it that said, "From the instant they enter a war, both sides are evil."? Maybe they're right. Maybe we are all monsters. I know I'm one. But when I'm with _him_, it doesn't really seem to matter. I have him, and that's all that matters._

Two figures sit on a rooftop. They are surrounded by snow, but they are curled against each other and don't feel the cold. One has long, dark hair, let down and loose, making a veil over his and the other's faces. The other's mess of red hair stands out against the stone and snow, a small fire restrained by a green scale-patterned headband. The right eye, covered by an eye patch, is not visible. That side of his face is pressed against the blue-hair's chest, listening to his heartbeat, just as strong as all those days and nights ago, before the war that took so many lives, but brought the peace they had been fighting for all along. Two blue eyes and one green eye are closed, and both are sleeping peacefully for the first time in many nights as the sun rises, casting a soft golden light over them.

They are alive, peace has come, and the sun has risen. All is well.

* * *

><p><strong>Toldja it would be long. <strong>

**I like this one a bit more than the last two or so. I guess that's a good thing. **

**I really didn't want to try to predict anything about the end of the war, because I would probably get it wrong and then feel like a fool. I really hope that Lavi and Kanda don't die, though. **

**And now, with this week's chapter done, I'm off to see the Hunger Games! See y'all next week! Love you all!**

**- Ruyax**


	11. Linger

**Ohmygod. I know, I know. It's Thursday, and there was no update last weekend. My excuse is that I went to Beaufort (wild horses and dolphins and sand dollars oh my!), but I know that you don't care. It's frickin' spring break, and I can't even get one chapter done, much less the two or three I was hoping for. And tomorrow I'm going to Triad Anime Con, so I won't be able to write then, either. Bad, bad me. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Linger<span>

Lavi yawned. He was trying to stay awake, but he was so comfortable…

He glanced down and smiled. Kanda was asleep on his lap, his hair unbound, his lips slightly parted. He'd been like that for nearly half an hour, and Lavi was certainly not going to move him.

Kanda had just gotten back from a mission, which had very nearly failed. The finder and the other exorcist on the team had both been killed, and Kanda had just barely made it out alive and with the Innocence, even with his Second Exorcist abilities.

Knowing how much Kanda hated hospitals and attention and people in general, Lavi had stolen him from the infirmary as soon as he could and snuck him out. They managed to get out to the gardens without being found, and that was where they had been for the past while.

At first they had just sat, neither one talking, Lavi gently combing Kanda's long, silky blue hair. And then Kanda had fallen asleep, and Lavi wouldn't have woken him up for a thousand dollars. This was a side of Kanda that no one else got to see, the soft, gentle, even – dare he say it – _vulnerable_ side. He smiled, knowing that Kanda would kill him if he knew what Lavi was thinking. But he didn't, and Lavi could think what he wanted. And he thought that he would like to stay there for a while. Just him and Yuu, sitting in the shade beneath an ancient oak tree, neither one speaking, no sound except for the wind in the grass and the birds in the trees.

Let the rest of the world move on, rushing and running, shouting and crying, bleeding and dying. Time could stop here, freeze them in this moment. Lavi had no wish to go back to the world. For now, he wanted to stay.

_I just want to linger a little bit longer here with you._

* * *

><p><strong>Short, I know. This one was harder to write than I thought it would be. <strong>

**If you're still reading all these, then I love you. I feel like they're not as good as the first couple. Maybe they'll get better…**

**Review, if it was worth it. **

**And now I'm off to the con. Yay anime!**

**- Ruyax**


	12. Fruity

**I actually remembered to do this chapter sort of on time! I had about three different ideas for this one, but I threw them all out. Why is this getting so hard? And why didn't I just choose to do ten or fifteen or something? I'm gonna die by 50…**

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Fruity<span>

Kanda sighed. It was exactly a week after Easter and Lavi was driving him crazy.

The idiot had made himself sick from eating too much chocolate and candy during Komui's disastrous Easter egg hunt. Now, with no more sugar in sight, he had turned to fruit. He was driving Jerry to distraction, always sneaking into the kitchen and sneaking back out again – it was amazing how stealthy the baka could be sometimes – with a handful of apples, plums, pears, oranges, cherries, strawberries, or whatever other fruits he could get his hands on.

Lavi seemed to be able to get sugar-high on anything, forget real sugar. It seemed to get worse with real sugar, though. And at the moment, he was driving the samurai completely crazy.

The redhead was bouncing around the room, making a complete and utter fool of himself. Bookman wasn't around to hit him with one of his crazy ninja-kicks, so the teen was free to be an idiot.

"Lavi." The boy turned at the sound of Kanda's voice. "If you don't sit down and shut up, I will kill you."

Lavi stuck his tongue out at Kanda, squinching his eyes shut. "Make me," he teased.

Kanda smirked. _If you want to play it that way, then here you go._ "Fine."

He grabbed Lavi by his sleeve and yanked him against his body, smashing their mouths together a little harder than he had meant to. _Oops. Oh, well._

Lavi was surprised enough that he still didn't talk even after Kanda let go. He stared at Kanda, slightly surprised. Kanda rolled his eyes. "Is that all it takes to shut you up? I should have figured it out sooner."

Lavi laughed. "I love you too, Yuu."

* * *

><p>… <strong>Still don't like it much. And it's short. Oh well. <strong>

**Aaand I have no idea what I'm doing for the next one. It's likely to be longer, if I can get myself to write it. Hrm. **

**See ya next week (I hope)!**

**- Ruyax**


	13. Half Life

**Whee! Lucky thirteen! **

… **Except this is DGM, not Midnighters. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Half-life<span>

_If you can't die, can you really live?_

Kanda is not human. He is a Second Exorcist, created by scientists from the brain of a dead exorcist.

He is supposed to have no emotions. He is not supposed to care. He is a fighting machine. That is all.

But he's not. Maybe he's flawed, maybe he's not what he's supposed to be, maybe he doesn't fulfill his purpose, but beneath that frozen personality and heart of stone, Kanda Yuu is human in the one way that matters. He loves.

Sure, the one he loves is an idiot with a perfect memory and only one eye, and yes, the moron drives him nuts sometimes, but Kanda never _really_ wants to kill him. At least, not usually.

He wonders sometimes why he loves him.

Maybe it's because, however different they look, they are really quite similar. Kanda was created, and "Lavi" is just the most recent personality of the Bookman Junior. It's not really something most people can relate to. Kanda knows he is practically immortal, at least until his tattoo expires, and Lavi has lived forty-eight different lives as forty-eight different people.

Or maybe it's because Kanda was made to be a fighting machine, not someone who could fall in love, and Lavi, being a Bookman, is supposed to have no emotions at all, much less love. Two people, meant to never fall in love with anyone, falling for each other. How impossible.

But how perfect.

_Maybe he can't die, at least until a point, but while he's alive, he can at least live his life with someone by his side, someone who loves him, despite the half-life he is living. It is a half-life full of love, thanks to Lavi.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>I know it's late, but this one was a lot of trouble for me. I don't know why. And it was shorter than I meant it to be. Oh, well. <strong>

… **I feel like these are going a little downhill. The first two were great, and I liked Rip (these are, of course, author-biased), but the others haven't been so hot. I don't know why. It's been bothering me. **

**The idea-ish things in this one will likely be explored with a bit more depth in later chapters, though I don't know when and which, or even if. **

**Sigh. This is getting hard… I'm glad some people like it, at least.  
><strong>

**- Ruyax**


	14. Roads

… **Bad me. Bad me, bad, bad Ruyax. Late again! But this one is longer! Can it count as three weeks? (not really, but I can wish, can't I?)**

**This one is a four-part oneshot. Each part is a short(ish) snapshot of Lavi and Kanda while they are traveling to various places for various reasons, one for each season. All are completely random and the first things that popped into my head for the season. **

**Have fun. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Roads<span>

_Winter_

It's damn cold, and Kanda desperately wants to kill someone.

The map that Komui gave him must have been outdated or just plain wrong, and now he is _literally_ lost in Siberia. And as if things couldn't get worse, the only other person around for miles is Lavi.

So, unfortunately for Lavi, if Kanda is to kill someone, that someone is highly likely to be him. And Kanda really, _really_ wants to kill someone.

Lavi has stopped now, and is staring intensely at the map. "You know, Yuu-chan, you really should have asked Komui for an updated map."

"How was I supposed to know it was out-of-date?" Kanda snarls. Guilt immediately springs to his chest when he sees the hurt look in Lavi's green eye, although it is gone in a flash. "Well," he says with a very convincing idiot-grin, "you should know Komui by now. He always does something stupid. Mixed-up maps are one of his more common screw-ups."

"Well, why didn't you ask him, then?" Again, the quickly-hidden hurt, and Kanda wants to kick himself for snapping again. Neither of them have had much sleep, and Kanda does not want to be lost in Siberia with a hurt – and possibly bad-tempered – Lavi.

"I was trying to dig Reever out of that mountain of paper that collapsed on top of him. I didn't even see the map until we got off the train." Lavi's voice matches the temperature, and he won't meet Kanda's eyes.

Kanda wants to apologize – something he would never do to anyone except maybe Lavi on occasion – but Lavi has moved on, walking as he turns the map upside-down. "I don't get this thing at all," he says, his breath puffing into a cloud in front of him. "I think the cartographer was drunk. Or high. Maybe just stupid."

They continue wandering, silent except for the sound of their boots in the deep snow and Lavi's occasional mutterings and cursings of the drunk, high, or stupid cartographer and their scrambled, outdated map.

Kanda watches Lavi as they walk. The Bookman's hair, scarf, and headband stand out even more than usual against the stark black-and-white of the snow and trees. Kanda can tell that Lavi is still stinging from his unkindness earlier, though he hides it well.

The mostly-silence continues until the sun begins to go down, and both decide it would be a good idea to set up camp before it gets dark and even colder than it already is. They speak only the bare minimum, until Lavi, his hands numb from the blasted, _blasted_ cold, drops their dinner into the snow.

Kanda is tired, cold, and already in a bad mood from wandering around in Siberia, and he doesn't even think before he explodes at the Bookman. He doesn't even remember what he said, but he does remember the look on Lavi's face, and the pain in his one eye. He does remember Lavi getting up and leaving the camp, his head down, the sound of his boots in the snow the only sound. Even the wind has died. The last rays of the setting sun leach what little color there is out of the scenery. And Kanda is completely alone.

Kanda is really starting to worry. It's been nearly two hours since Lavi left, and there is no sign of him. He's sitting by the fire, staring into the flames, thinking that he really should have gone after the redhead, when he hears a branch snap. He has drawn Mugen and risen into a fighting stance by the time he sees that it is not a bandit or a bear or an akuma, but just Lavi.

Lavi says nothing to Kanda as he crawls into the tent. After a few moments, Kanda follows him inside.

Lavi's face is red from the high winds and low temperature, and he won't meet Kanda's eyes. Kanda waits for a minute, then leans forward, brushing his lips against's Lavi's cold cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispers into Lavi's ear.

Lavi leans against him. "So am I," he whispers back.

When they go to sleep that night, Kanda lies very close to Lavi. Hey, it's a cold night, and the last thing they need is for one of them to get sick.

_Well, alright, maybe that's not the _only_ reason. But whatever.  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>Spring<em>

Kanda had just settled down to meditate when a loud sneeze made his eyes snap open.

Lavi gave a guilty grin as he tried (and failed) to repress the next sneeze. "Sorry, Yuu."

Kanda sighed. Why, oh why did the usagi have to be allergic to pollen? And why in hell did Komui, knowing this certain fact, have to send him on a mission to freaking _Spain_, in the specific time of year where the only thing you could see was flowers, flowers, everywhere, all in the middle of their blooming and pollinating season?

Another sneeze. He would never get to meditate at this rate.

It was almost funny, to watch the Bookman making such an effort to _not_ sneeze, and fail miserably. _At this rate_, Kanda thought, _it'll be a miracle if we don't find any akuma. They must be able to hear this from miles away._

Another sneeze. Kanda's ears were starting to hurt. Lavi's nose was as red as his hair, and he looked as miserable as a wet cat. "I hate pollen," he muttered, blowing his nose again and sounding like a car horn while doing it.

Both wished they could go inside somewhere, Lavi because his head hurt from sneezing, and Kanda because he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it before he tried to kill something. Not Lavi. Well, preferably not Lavi. Maybe a smallish mammal would do.

_Ah, screw it. Komui said we needed to keep a watch for akuma, but we can take a break and go inside somewhere until Lavi stops his accursed sneezing._ So thinking, he grabbed Lavi by the arm and dragged him off to find the nearest town. Maybe they could have lunch somewhere, or go get an ice cream, or something.

Lavi before missions. That wasn't really supposed to happen, but it was just the way it was.

* * *

><p><em>Summer<em>

Kanda wasn't sure how it had happened. But it was.

It had started when Lavi began complaining about the heat. They were walking to a small town still many miles from where they were, and it was ridiculously hot. _Why does Komui do this?_ Same reason he did anything. Because he was an idiot with power.

Kanda was ready to shred his exorcist uniform. He understood the whole black thing, being dark and mysterious and all, but why on earth did they make them so damn long and heat-absorbent when it was 100 degrees in full summer and there was no shade _at all?_

Finally, they reached a small town. They were passing through it when _it_ happened. Someone was selling popsicles.

"Hey, Yuu! Looklooklook!" Lavi tugged on Kanda's sleeve, looking for all the world like an excited five-year-old. "Popsicles! Yuu, can we get popsicles?"

Kanda was about to say no – they were on a mission – but one look at Lavi's pleading face shattered his resolve.

And so it happened. Now Kanda was somewhere in the Italian countryside, a one-eyed idiot usagi by his side, trying and failing to keep the grape popsicle in his hand from melting sticky juice all down his arm.

Neither he nor Lavi were wearing their coats, having finally given up and removed them before they died of heatstroke. Kanda was certain he looked like a child as he frantically ate at his popsicle, although no matter how hard he tried, purple juice still ran down his arm.

_I, Kanda Yuu, am losing a battle to a freaking POPSICLE_. He could not believe it. Also, he could see Lavi grinning at him from the corner of his eye and knew that Lavi had planned this from the start.

Then he noticed the mischievous look in Lavi's eye. That was never good.

"Hey, Yuu." Lavi sidled up to Kanda, having finished his popsicle a good five minutes before. "You look like you're having a little trouble there. Want some help?"

Before Kanda could say anything, Lavi had grabbed his wrist, sticky juice and all, and licked it. Kanda stopped walking and stared at Lavi.

"What?" Lavi made an innocent face. Then, before Kanda knew what was happening, Lavi leaned forward and kissed him.

They kissed for a while, the remains of the grape popsicle lying on the road, and when Lavi pulled away, he made a funny face. "Yuu, you taste like grapes."

Kanda snorted and started walking again, tugging Lavi's hand to make him move too. "I wonder why."

Lavi laughed. "It suits you. You should eat popsicles more often."

_Yeah, right. Those things are evil. However, they are a good way to get Lavi to kiss me, so maybe they're not that bad…  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>Fall<em>

The sun is setting behind the mountains, sending red and orange and gold through the partially-bare trees, illuminating their colors even more, and setting the ground, covered in multicolored leaves, on fire in the fading light.

In the dimming light, two people are asleep. Well, not quite asleep. A tall man with long blue hair has his eyes shut, but is not quite sleeping; he is keeping watch. The other man, however, is completely out. His headband is off, letting his fire-red hair fall into his face, and he is snoring lightly.

The redhead is worn out. He has been kicking fallen leaves and chasing falling ones all day, and driving his partner crazy. But his energy had been infective, and so Kanda had turned Lavi's catch-the-leaves game into his own cut-as-many-falling-leaves-as-possible-in-half version.

When the sun finally began to go down, both were completely exhausted. Lavi had gotten leaves in Kanda's hair, and in retaliation, Kanda had shoved him down a hill. How was he supposed to know that there were bramble bushes at the bottom? The baka deserved it, anyway.

And now they slept, or at least mostly. Lavi loved fall, and Kanda couldn't help but smile when he watched the idiot run in circles after some windblown leaf. Kanda sighed at the stupidity of the other exorcist, but he had to admit, Lavi was certainly entertaining, especially when he was on an autumn high.

It was funny enough when they were back at the Order, but it was always better when they were traveling, even more so if they were alone. Because if they were alone, then Kanda could play a little too, because he knew that Lavi would laugh at him when they were doing it, and maybe laugh a little later, but he wouldn't tell anyone else.

And so Kanda Yuu, the coldhearted samurai exorcist, discovered the joy of playing in the leaves. He blamed Lavi completely.

* * *

><p><strong>Travel adventures. Yay. It took me long enough. I blame many things for this lateness, most recently the craziness of end-of-year school. Also, I really didn't reread this at all, so I apologize for any weird wording or just nonsense. <strong>

**I sort-of referenced Fruity! Without meaning to…**

**Review and tell me what you think (and thank you to all of you who have reviewed any of these chapters. You make me want to write this!). **

**Next one is going to be odd. **

**- Ruyax**


	15. Rings

**No, no, I have not died. I didn't want to write, and then I went to Animazement (awesome and a perfectly good excuse not to write or do anything else), and then I forgot. And now I remembered. **

**Now that school's actually out, I might (in the realms of possibility) be able to get back onto the one week-oneshot schedule I originally had going before I got lazy and school tried to take over my brain. Maybe. No promises. Man, these things aren't even very long and I can't get myself to finish them!**

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Rings<span>

_Not good. Sooo not good._

Yep, Kanda was drunk. Very. It was actually really funny, except for the fact that Lavi was sure that if Kanda remembered what happened tonight tomorrow, he would kill Lavi and then himself just to spare himself the embarrassment. And that would be even more not good.

"Laaviiii," Kanda slurred, stumbling and nearly faceplanting on the sidewalk, saved only by Lavi grabbing him around the waist and hauling him back upright. "Laaviii, why are there two of youu?"

"Because I'm so awesome that my awesomeness can't be contained in one body," Lavi replied in a mutter, concentrating on keeping Kanda on his feet.

Evidently, Kanda thought that was hilarious, because he started laughing so hard that he nearly fell again, and almost walked both himself and Lavi into a lamppost. "Ahahaha, Laaviii, yur sooo funny!" he stumbled again and nearly stepped on a couple walking past. They gave the two exorcists very odd looks as they went around Kanda's range of falling/tripping/stepping on/anything else he might do in his very inebriated state.

Don't ask Lavi how it happened. _They_ sure didn't ask for this. It was possible that someone put something in Kanda's drink when he wasn't paying attention, although Lavi suspected the bartender. She'd been eyeing the samurai in a way that Lavi really didn't like from the moment the exorcists had entered the bar. Yuu was _his_, dammit! And besides, she was a girl. Sure, she was hot, but unfortunately Kanda had a thing for red hair and green eyes. And male-ness. All of which she lacked.

Apparently, Kanda also had a thing for earrings, which Lavi was discovering right now. "Lavii, your earrings sure are preety," the samurai mumbled, reaching up for the shiny silver hoops.

"Erm. Thanks, Yuu. Now please – GODDAMN IT, YUU, CAN'T YOU EVEN TRY TO WALK STRAIGHT?"

* * *

><p>Evidently, the answer was no. After another five minutes (which felt like five hours), the pair finally reached the park that Lavi had been trying to get to. Here, at least, there weren't any people around to witness Kanda's drunken foolishness. And maybe, Lavi could have some fun…<p>

He was distracted by a sharp yank on his ear. "Yowch! Yuu-chan, I know you like my earrings. But please don't rip them from my ears. Look," he added at the crestfallen look on his boyfriend's face, "you can hold it if you want." He reached up and unclasped one of the earrings, placing it in Kanda's waiting palm and silently saying goodbye to it. Kanda was very, very drunk, after all, and Lavi didn't expect him to keep track of a tiny bit of metal, especially in the middle of the night.

Kanda seemed quite satisfied with the earring and plunked himself down in the middle of the grass to examine it very closely, with the careful, comical precision of a drunk. Then his face lit up with an idea. The inebriated Japanese reached up and tried to put it in his own ear. This, of course, didn't work, since Kanda's ears were not pierced. He nearly pierced his right ear anyway with his attempt, before Lavi managed to stop him. "No, no. Yuu-chan, you don't do it like that."

Then an idea occurred to the Bookman. "Of course, if you wanted, we could get them pierced." Lavi actually quite liked the idea of Kanda with earrings, but he knew that when the exorcist was sober, he would vehemently disagree.

And then Kanda got another idea.

"Laaviii, I really think I like the erings in yur ears better…" Kanda reached out and grabbed a handful of Lavi's orange scarf, yanking the Bookman closer to him. He threaded one finger through the remaining silver loop, giving it a light tug and laughing at Lavi's flinch – he'd been expecting a yank like before.

"They're pretty," the samurai whispered in Lavi's ear, his warm breath sending shivers up Lavi's back.

Things progressed from there, and Lavi discovered two things. One, Kanda _really_ liked his earrings. Two, it was good to get Kanda drunk sometimes.

* * *

><p>They had just returned from the mission, which had been a success.<p>

As they left Komui's room – as usual, it was a disaster area of scattered papers –, Lavi noticed that Kanda was acting a little odd and kept glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. He stopped walking and turned to face Kanda. "What's up, Yuu-chan?"

"Nothing." The samurai wouldn't meet his eyes. "Here." He shoved something into Lavi's hand and left, walking just a little faster than normal and nearly colliding with a Finder who hadn't been watching where he was going.

_That's weird. What's up with him?_

Lavi opened his hand to see what Kanda had given him before taking off in such a hurry.

In his palm lay a tiny circle of silver.

Lavi stood there for a moment before he finally figured out what it was. _My earring. Kanda kept my earring. Hell, he was flat-out drunk and he managed to hold on to it the whole time and didn't lose it. _

Talk about weird.

Then a smile slowly spread across Lavi's face. The night Kanda was so drunk… well, it just made it even more impressive that the samurai had managed to not lose a tiny bit of wire, along with keeping hold of it the whole rest of the mission. _Impressive._

The Finder Kanda had nearly run over was looking at him with an odd expression. He probably did look weird, fresh from a mission, standing stock-still in the middle of a hallway with a silly grin on his face and something in his hand. "Um, Lavi? Is something wrong?" he asked, looking very puzzled.

Lavi shook his head slowly, the smile spreading. "Nah. I just found something I've been missing."

_More than one something,_ he thought, picturing long blue hair and dark eyes and a sharp tongue. _We really should get Kanda's ears pierced someday.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Ehehe. I hope you guys liked that. The first thing that came into my mind for this one was Lavi's earrings, of which I have an exact copy (which is sooo cool! I think of him every time I wear them!). So, yeah. This happened. <strong>

**This one's for SilverNightWhisper, 'cause she likes it so much. Just don't pull on my earrings, please. **

**Review and blahblahblah, although I don't really deserve it, lazy slacker writer that I am. **

**- Ruyax**


	16. Dust

**ON TIME! I made it! **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Dust<span>

"Remind me again why I'm helping you?"

Kanda's voice was a low growl. He was trying his very hardest not to sneeze, but it was a losing battle.

Lavi sat up and grinned at him, dust illuminating the air around him. "'Cause you love me, doncha Yuu-chan?"

Kanda growled again, and then sneezed. The sneeze was hard enough to knock him back on his heels from where he had been crouching beside a box filled with old paper covered in tiny print and incomprehensible graphs. Lavi had dragged him into helping him clean out a room full of boxes just like this, apparently old records or something, the newest of which had to be fifty years old, if Kanda was any judge. The only problem was… Kanda was allergic to dust.

Yes. Kanda Yuu could be defeated by dust bunnies. Although what they found in here really should be called dust hippopotamuses. Lavi had also walked into a cobweb the size of a couch and nearly killed himself flailing around. Kanda had a good bruise on his shoulder to show for it.

Lavi seemed to be enjoying himself well enough, seated cross-legged on the ground going through each paper in each box to make sure it was really okay to get rid of it. If Kanda had been in charge, he would have just taken all the boxes and tossed them in the nearest dumpster, but he wasn't, so they weren't.

And so he was stuck helping Lavi, although he was doing more of just the moving boxes around, moving the throw-out pile from the space on the floor behind Lavi to a trash can, and putting the to-keep pile – which, fortunately, was pretty small, back in the not-eaten-by-mice-or-golems-or-something-worse boxes. Lavi had probably figured out that though Kanda would help him if necessary, he didn't have the patience to sift through piles of ancient papers. And he'd likely throw them all out anyway since he couldn't tell what was important and what wasn't.  
>.<p>

"Yuu-chan, I'm done with this box."

…

"Yuu?"

Still no answer. Lavi looked up from his pile and glanced around him. _Where did he go?_ Come to think of it, he hadn't heard Kanda for a few minutes. He stood up, every joint popping loudly. _Ouch. Gotta remember to move around some every few hours._

He began to walk around the room, moving quietly between the tall shelves. Many of them were empty, and he was surprised at how much they had cleared out. Either they were unbelievably efficient, or more time had passed than he thought. Maybe both.

He turned down another row, and there he was.

Long, silky blue hair covered part of the pale, elegant face, and the simple clothes, black sleeveless turtleneck and dark blue pants, just accentuated the ethereal beauty of the picture.

The air around Kanda was lit with tiny flecks of golden; dust motes catching the fading light through the window. They caught in his hair, and lit his dark clothes like dying sparks.

Lavi's first coherent thought was, _I really don't want to wake him up._

Then he almost laughed. Kanda looked so much like a girl, long hair, dark lashes brushing his cheeks, the way he was curled up in the corner, surrounded by boxes of ancient nonsense, back against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest and head leaning on a shelf.

Lavi made a decision. _No one'll be looking for us for a while longer. It's a big room, after all. And no one's expecting us to get through it fast._

Moving very quietly and slowly, he settled down beside the samurai, making himself comfortable and leaning his head against the wall. Kanda made a soft sound and, without opening his eyes, moved his head from the shelf to Lavi's shoulder. He shifted a little to adjust to the new position, and murmured something so softly that Lavi almost didn't catch it.

"_Aishiteru, Rabi."_

* * *

><p><strong>Actually, I intended to make this a funny chapter, with Kanda sneezing and Lavi laughing at him, but I was listening to Lana Del Rey and the music made me sorta sleepy. Rereading this, I realized that the sleepiness transferred itself to the story. Ahahaha. Oops. <strong>

**The next one will be interesting. I'll be leaving for Canada next Sunday, so it may be late, but I'll try to get it done before I leave. **

… **No promises. **

**- Ruyax**


	17. Every You, Every Me

**It's late. I know. This one's really weird, and AU to top it off, so I apologize if you can't figure out what's going on. It started pretty good, but then it kind of got hit by a random truck of writer's brain-scramble. I hope it sort of makes sense. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Every You, Every Me<span>

_Late, late, late,_ the chant ran through his head as he struggled to get dressed at quadruple speed. He yanked a shirt over his head, covering the strange blackish birthmark on the left side of his chest, shaped almost like an Om symbol with darkness radiating out of it. Then he dug through the bedside table drawer until he found a hair tie and tugged his hair into it, a cascade of silky blue-black strands. The few people who teased him for looking like a girl quickly discovered that he certainly didn't fight like one – or at least, how the one in the saying fought, which didn't seem to be so true now.

He practically threw himself out the door, bag in one hand, one shoe in the other (the second shoe was on his foot). He hopped down the stairs while tugging the shoe on, and miraculously didn't fall on his face and break his stupid, _late_, neck. He had very good balance and reflexes, despite never having trained for anything requiring such skills. He was thinking of taking martial arts, though – specifically, anything to do with swords, he liked swords a lot for some reason – why not put gifts to use?

And then he saw him. Another boy, on the other side of the road, sitting on a bench, reading a book. Long, messy red hair, a black strip of cloth holding it back from his face.

And then he looked up, and their eyes met, and

_He should have an eye patch._

_Why do I think that? I don't know him. I've never seen him before in my life – but I have. I know him. How do I know him? We've never met. But I know him as well as I know myself.  
><em>

* * *

><p>He's reading. He's homeschooled, so school hours aren't a big thing to him. Not much is a big thing to him. He's so cool and laid-back, friends with everyone, just a few hobbies – nothing weird, just carpentry and books, although sometimes he has flashbacks of things that never happened to him, monsters and blood and swords and hammers and people who aren't people, and it's like he's seeing them with only one eye – it's weird, but he passes it off as dreams and goes on with his life.<p>

It's an ordinary morning, and he's just reading, green eyes scanning the pages rapidly, every word committing itself to his perfect memory, and suddenly he feels someone watching him. Green eyes meet blue-black, and

_He should be Japanese. _

_Why do I think that? I don't know him. I've never met this guy – but I have. I know him. How do I know him? I've never seen him before in my life. But I know him as well as I know myself.  
><em>

* * *

><p>And then they both hear it. Their voices, their own and the other's, each so familiar. They may never have met, but they know each other.<p>

_I love you. _

_Aishiteru. _

_I'll never give up on you, Yuu. We're dying, but everyone is reborn, and reborn and reborn, and one day, it will work out. There won't be any more akuma, no more Earl or Noahs or exorcists, and we can just be. _

_Baka usagi. You're always so optimistic. I don't believe in reincarnation. _

_Too bad, Yuu-chan. I do. I don't care if I'm an emotionless Bookman or if you're a superhuman Second Exorcist, someday we'll be normal and we'll be able to be in love without the rest of the world trying to kill us with monsters made out of trapped souls. Someday, sometime, some world, we'll just be Yuu and Lavi and everything will be okay. _

_Hmph. Even if you think that, who knows how long it'll take? I'm not patient. _

_I don't know how long. I don't know everything – _

_Who would have guessed?_

_Shut up. I don't know everything, but I do know this: I can wait for ever if it means I'll get to be with Yuu in the end. _

_Very funny. _

_I'm not being funny. I will wait for ever for you, and I know that you will too. Someday we'll be normal, you won't have the Lotus and I won't have forty-eight other personalities, and we'll be in love. _

Every you, every me, always together.

* * *

><p>… <strong>I toldja it'd be weird. It was supposed to be Lavi and Kanda's reincarnations, and their meeting in our world or the modern-day version of their world, but then it kinda mutated into this piece of wordscramble. <strong>

**If you liked it, then let me know. I'd really like to hear what people think of this. Especially since I've got, what, two or three modern-day AU ideas for D. Gray-Man (SilverNightWhisper, you know what I'm talking about), and I want to know what people think of the idea of modern-day AU in general. Sooo, review or PM or whatever. Or don't. Whatever. I don't particularly deserve this, since it's summer and I'm doing almost nothing and I STILL can't get these done on time, but oh well. **

**See ya soon!**

**- Ruyax**


	18. Project

**Woo another one. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Project<span>

It was just another battle. Battles have damages. This really wasn't any different than any other.

But as Lavi watched Kanda sleep, white bandages wrapped around his chest and arm, he knows it wasn't just another battle.  
>.<p>

_Akuma and gunfire and flames and explosions. And then an attack, a bullet full of the deadly virus that covered you with black pentacles before dissolving you into dust. He turns, but he's too slow, too slow, and he knows that he's going to die. Allen survived a bullet because he could purify himself. Lavi can't do that. Krowley's not here to suck the poison from his body the way he did on the ship. Kanda can survive it because he's Kanda and he can survive anything. But Lavi's not Kanda, and he's going to die. _

_One too slow, but another fast, too fast for a normal human. But Kanda's not a normal human, so he's fast, just fast enough to put a block – himself – between the Bookman and the bullet. And then it hits, and Kanda reminds himself that he's survived this before, before sinking to the ground and watching the world fade away._

.

Maybe the curse was just too worn to take an akuma bullet like it had done before. Maybe this akuma was just strong. It didn't matter. All Lavi could think as he watched a black blur intercept the bullet's path and then fall to the ground was _Why?_ Why would he do that? How is he so damn fast? Too many questions, but none of those mattered either. _Save Yuu. Protect him, like he just did for you._

Lavi had managed to fight off the remaining akuma, but his heart nearly stopped when he remembered. Yuu.

He was still breathing, still alive (of course), but he was in bad shape. Lavi had gotten him back to the Order where they had patched the Second Exorcist up – Lavi too, the Bookman hadn't escaped the fight without injuries, although those were nothing in comparison to the havoc wreaked across Kanda's chest, left side and arm. He would live (of course), and would probably be out of the hospital in three or four days, but his curse had been worn away even more, and it was all Lavi's fault.

* * *

><p>Kanda's eyes opened to a white ceiling and harsh lights. <em>Damn. Hospital again.<em>

He sat up very slowly, well aware of the damage done to his body and arm. Then he noticed Lavi. The Bookman was asleep in a chair beside his bed, chin on his chest, his one eye shut. He wasn't wearing his headband, so his red hair flopped down unrestrained, shadowing his face. His hands lay limp in his lap, the right one wrapped in bandages disappearing up his sleeve. Kanda remembered that part of the fight. An akuma that looked like a mad scientist's baby doll had revealed itself to have claws like butcher's knives, and had flashed up close to Lavi and might have clawed him in half had he not used his arms and hammer as a defense. His arm was clawed up as a result, but it was better than having your body split in two.

Oh right. Now he remembered what had happened before he blacked out. There was an akuma (weren't there always) and the baka usagi didn't notice it until it was too late. And all Kanda could think was _he can't die._ That was all there was to it. Lavi was not allowed to die, and he was about to break that rule, and Kanda couldn't let him do that. That was all there was to it. So he moved, fast even for a Second Exorcist, and stopped the bullet with his own body. Not the best idea, in retrospect, but it didn't matter. He would heal – there were advantages to being a Second Exorcist, like pretty much not being able to die – and meanwhile, Lavi was alive and mostly well, sitting right beside him, breathing and dreaming and _alive._ That was all that mattered.

Sometimes, his curse could be a gift.

* * *

><p><strong>Blargh. Skipped or missed or forgot so much stuff that I meant to put in and then couldn't do it later 'cause it would have screwed it up and I was too lazy to rewrite it. My writing's been doing really weird things lately. I just seem to go on and on and on…<strong>

**Okay, time for a few things. **

**One. The relationship between the prompt and the story aren't all that clear for this one. Basically, Project as in the Second Exorcist Project. The Project that gives Kanda his extra-special superpowers (and the death curse that comes with it…). Even I forgot what the connection was for a while. But it was the first thing that came to mind for this one. Go, my brain. **

**Two. The updates (which have been becoming more and more sporadic) are likely to be few and far between if at all for the next month-ish. I'm in France (yay) and my internet access is iffy at best. I'll try to write the next few during this time, so I can post lots when I get home to my reliable (if turtle-slow) internet. **

**I hope you guys aren't getting tired of this. I try to make them somewhat different, but sometimes I think they start blurring. Maybe it's just me and my scrambled author brain. **

**I suppose I should shut up now. See ya. **

**- Ruyax**


	19. Adore

**Okay, not in record time, but pretty damn close. I'm pretending to make up for my lack of posting in the past few weeks (months). **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Adore<span>

Lavi adores Yuu. It's that simple. He adores his dark eyes, his lean, lithe body, his long, silky, midnight-blue hair, his water-smooth, lightning-fast moves with Mugen, his bad temper, his tendency towards violence, his occasional moments of gentleness that occur only when he's alone with Lavi, his _Yuu-ness._

Really, he shouldn't adore. It should only be a word in his vocabulary, used to describe how someone else feels about someone or something. Bookmen just _don't_ adore. It's not something they do. Unfortunately, it is the best word to describe how Lavi feels about the exorcist Kanda Yuu. So it is the word he uses, but only in his head. He absolutely cannot let Bookman know this. He cannot let his mentor know that his friendship – er, the friendship that the Bookman Junior's personality "Lavi" – has with Yuu has gone so much farther than friendship, and so much deeper than "Lavi." He's not even entirely certain where "Lavi" ends and the Bookman Junior begins. To tell the truth, he's not entirely sure whether he'll be able to shed "Lavi" when the time comes. Maybe Bookman Junior and Lavi are one and the same now. He doesn't want to know what will happen if Bookman finds out. What will happen to _him_ if Bookman finds out.

What will happen to Yuu, what will happen to Lavi and Yuu, Yuu and Lavi, to _them._ Because he and Yuu have become something of a single entity, too, and he doesn't know – doesn't want to know – what will happen to either of them, to both of them, if they are broken.

And Lavi prays, to all the gods he's ever known, that he will never have to find out. He prays that he can just spend a little more time loving, touching, kissing, watching, holding, _adoring_ his Yuu. His beloved Yuu-chan.

* * *

><p>… <strong>Mushy. Probably the mushiest so far, and that's saying something.<br>**

**Also short. Very short. Maybe the shortest so far. Oh well.  
><strong>

**This one is dedicated to all of those who have reviewed this story (also thanks if you favorited or alerted or whatever else lets you do):Lazy Gaga, GGL-HY, Tawnia, BornBlindtoBeauty, Her Diary, Girl59, Desired Dreams-XS8018, 0Book0Worm0, Badee Badaa Doo, and of course the wonderful SilverNightWhisper. 42 reviews at last count! And some of you have reviewed almost every chapter!  
><strong>

**I adore each and every one of you. **

**Love and love and love, **

**- Ruyax**


	20. Dance

**Good gods. I've reached twenty. And I'm not even halfway done. Sigh. **

**Finishing this as I eat a popsicle and don't really pay attention to the Democratic National Convention on TV. Woo. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Dance<span>

_Battle is a dance. A deadly one, albeit, but a dance nonetheless. And Lavi and Kanda have perfected their duet. _

_Never a moment late, never a single step out of place. If they get it wrong, they die. High stakes, but they've never gotten it wrong._

.

Kanda has his back against a wall. He has never been more uncomfortable in his life.

It is the Halloween Masquerade Ball. Kanda does not celebrate Halloween. Kanda does not dress up in costumes. Kanda does not dance.

He danced one dance with Lenalee, but that's only because he fears Komui's sister-wrath as much as anyone. He has fended off everyone else – fortunately, very few have the guts to ask the bad-tempered swordsman to dance – and has spent the entire time leaning against a wall and being grumpy.

Komui made him come down. He said that everyone who was home for the ball had to at least be in the room, for reasons known only to him. One thing's for sure: Kanda's definitely contributing to the "scary" part of Halloween.

"Hey, Yuu-chan."

_Dammit. I guess it was only a matter of time before he found me._ "Don't call me that."

The redhead cheerily ignores him. "Wanna dance, Yuu-chan?"

"No."

"Oh, come on. It's a _ball_, Yuu. You're supposed to dance and have fun, not sulk in the corner."

"I am not sulking."

Lavi grins. "I beg to differ. Now hurry up." And he drags Kanda out to the dance floor.

_Damn baka. Can't take no for an answer._ "Let go of me."

A happy, "Nope," is all he gets in return before Lavi's arms are around him and drag him into an imitation of the other dancers around them.

They're ungraceful, to say the least. Neither of them really knows how to dance, although Lavi is better than Kanda. There is much stumbling and stepping on feet, but finally Kanda gives up. _He's not going to let me go until the dance is over, so I'm stuck dancing with the idiot until the song is done._

Strangely enough, the song ends too soon. They've just gotten the hang of it, and are no longer going in two different directions at once. Kanda almost feels disappointed, but quickly hides it. He's done. That's a good thing.

But Lavi's too smart for his own damn good, and he sees through Kanda's façade, as he's always been able to do. "Another?" he asks, a teasing light in his eye.

"No." Kanda turns and walks away, refusing to look at the Bookman as the fool goes off to find some other poor soul to drag out on the floor. _He's_ certainly not going to dance again.  
>.<p>

Damn. How did this happen?

Kanda is back out, dancing with Lavi _again_. He's still not certain how it happened, but at least this time he's not being stepped on. Or doing the stepping-on. They've both improved quickly. Ah, well. They're fast learners.

And maybe a little drunk. Kanda's not protesting as much as he really should be, and Lavi seems even happier – and crazier – than he normally is.

People are staring at them. It's normal to see Lavi dancing and being silly, but _Kanda_? Kanda Yuu? The most feared exorcist in the entire branch? Dancing? It's not possible.

But it is. And they're not bad at it, either.

And then the song is over. And again, Kanda feels a bit of disappointment. It's not like this is going to happen again. It wasn't bad. He'll never admit it aloud, but it wasn't.

"Thanks, Yuu," Lavi says as they walk back to the wall Kanda had been leaning on earlier, and probably would stay for the rest of the night. He kissed Kanda lightly on the cheek, smiled, and wandered off, probably to ask some random girl to dance. Or boy. Lavi wasn't too particular.

For the rest of the night, Kanda watched him. Lavi danced with lots of people. And Kanda didn't feel jealous at all. Lavi was social. It was normal for him to want to dance with people. And Kanda could tell that Lavi didn't dance with anyone else the way he had danced with him. They had something that none of the others did, and it made Kanda feel like a satisfied cat.

Damn it. Lavi was always calling him a cat, and now it was getting to him.

As he watched his redhead spin around and around with a girl he didn't even know, Kanda was wondering just one thing. Who taught Lavi to dance?

* * *

><p>… <strong>That was weird. I don't think that made any sense. Oh well. <strong>

**Okay. Note. The one-week-one-fic thing isn't going to continue. As you probably noticed. I'm now in junior year, and while it isn't utter hell (yet), I have more work than I had in sophomore year and have to deal with that before I can go write fanfiction, no matter how much more interesting FF is. The tragedy of real life. Anyway, I'll try to update as often as I can. Your reviews/favorites/follows/whatever are very encouraging. Thanks for putting up with my update issues. You're awesome. **

**- Ruyax**


	21. Poison

… **Remember when these used to be weekly updates? Sigh. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Poison<span>

Lavi had a poison living in him. Deak was always there, always behind his back, watching him, taunting him, waiting for him to slip up and give the other identity a chance to take over. There were forty-six other personalities inside Lavi, but only Deak ever tried anything.

Maybe it was because Deak was different. Dark. Cruel. He enjoyed others' pain. He was everything Lavi wasn't. And even though Lavi constantly fought to keep Deak locked up in his room of the Memory Palace, both knew that it was only a matter of time before Lavi made a mistake.

* * *

><p>"Lavi?" Kanda shut the door behind him, dropping Mugen onto the floor. He'd just gotten back from a three-week-long mission and was exhausted. All he wanted to do was find Lavi and drag him to his bed to take a long, well-deserved nap.<p>

"Lavi? Are you here?" Lenalee had told him that she was pretty sure she had seen Lavi going to his room earlier, saying that he had a headache. _Come to think of it, Lavi's been having headaches a lot lately, even before I left. That's strange._

"La –" he jumped as a hand touched his shoulder. "_Kami_, Lavi, don't do that! I almost attacked you!"

"Sorry." Lavi smiled slightly. "I thought you heard me coming up."

"I didn't," Kanda snapped. He wasn't angry, not really, but he was damn tired and Lavi thought it was fun to play mind games with him? "Look, Lavi. I'm exhausted. Let's just go to sleep." He reached out to take Lavi's hand when suddenly Lavi grabbed his wrist and shoved him against the wall, one arm above his head.

"What the – Lavi! What's wrong with you?!" Kanda stared at his boyfriend in shock. "Do you think this is some sort of game? Let go!" He tried to pull his hand out from beneath Lavi's, but the Bookman just tightened his grip. He smiled, and that was when Kanda noticed his eye.

Normally, Lavi's one eye was bright green, full of energy and fire. But now it was flat, dull, a duckweed-green instead of new-grass-green. The smile was wrong, too. It wasn't a happy smile, the kind of smile Lavi gave Kanda when they met after being separated for any length of time. This was a cruel smile, a hungry one. Not Lavi's.

And then it clicked. This wasn't Lavi. It was Lavi's body, but not Lavi himself. _Deak_.

Allen had told Kanda about the time in the Ark when Rhode locked Lavi up inside himself and let Deak out, and how Deak nearly killed Allen before Lavi managed to break out and stop him.

The headaches. The times Lavi seemed to be having an internal argument, or battle, but wouldn't tell Kanda anything. The way he had been acting strangely, even before Kanda left. _Deak's been fighting him. Deak has been trying to get out. And he never told anyone._

"Damn it, Lavi! I know you're in there. Let me go."

Lavi – no, not Lavi, it was Deak, god damn _Deak_ in his lover's body – smiled. "Lavi's busy. But we can have fun on our own…" His smile made Kanda's skin crawl.

Kanda snarled. "Get off me. I'll kill you –"

"No, you won't. You see, even though Lavi's not home, this is still his body. Any damage you do to it will be felt by him, if and when I give it back to him. You wouldn't want that, now would you?"

Damn it. Kanda struggled, but weakly. He was tired. He hadn't slept in two or three days, and was still worn out from the last battle he had fought. Even if he had been at peak strength, this was _Lavi_. It was still his body. Kanda couldn't quite bring himself to hurt him. Damn it.

Deak saw the mental struggle going on behind Kanda's dark eyes. "Tragic, isn't it? You can't hurt Lavi. Even if I'm not Lavi."

He pressed his body closer to Kanda's and reached one hand up to touch Kanda's face. It was light, gentle. Just like Lavi. He leaned closer, closer, until his lips were right beside Kanda's ear. "I can be, though." And before Kanda could think, Lavi's lips were pressed against his. He felt so much like Lavi, he _was_ Lavi, and –

_No. This is not Lavi. This is an intruder. Get rid of him._ Kanda blocked out the knowledge that this was Lavi, the person he was closest to, his _love_, and forced himself to react as if the person before him was a total stranger.

Three strikes. That was all it took. A quick twist to free his arm, a punch to the jaw, a knee to the ribs, and then a hard shove away, and Deak was on the floor. Kanda wasn't sure what to do then. Run? Attack again? But Lavi solved the problem for him.

He lay on the ground for a moment, winded, and then suddenly convulsed, hands grabbing his head. A low moan escaped his mouth. Then a growl. _"Get out."_ Not directed to Kanda, but inwards. Toward the one who had taken over his mind and body. _"Out. Get out. Get out."_

* * *

><p>Lavi's head is splitting. His whole body hurts, but it is centered in his head. He can feel his hands, nails digging into the sides of his skull as if that will drive Deak back to the cave he came from. <em>Get out.<em> He could see what Deak had been doing, could see the shock in Yuu's face as he realized that Lavi was not Lavi.

In truth, Lavi had been terrified. He knew what Deak was capable of, and he was so scared that his other self might hurt his beloved Yuu.

He was so happy when Yuu hit him. _This isn't me. Fight him. Surprise him. _If Deak got caught off-guard, Lavi hoped that he might be able to get back out.

And he was trying. Gods knew he was trying, but Deak was strong, and determined to keep his freedom. _Get out._

And then he feels cool hands cupping his face. A familiar voice is talking, maybe shouting – he can't tell. The one thing he knows is that this is someone he wants to see again. See, hear, touch, love. Kanda Yuu.

_Get out, Deak. He's mine._

* * *

><p>"Lavi! Lavi, wake up! Dammit, usagi! Come on!" Kanda shook Lavi's shoulders gently. "Send that bastard back under whatever rock he crawled out of!"<p>

And then Lavi's body went limp. Kanda felt a thrill of fear run down his spine before Lavi's eye opens slowly, and then he can relax. It is green – bright green, alive green, _Lavi_ green. Deak is gone. _Thank Kami._

"Lavi."

The Bookman looks up at the samurai and smiles tiredly. "Hi, Yuu. I have the worst headache on the planet right now. Do you want to go to sleep?"

Kanda rolls his eyes, but helps Lavi to his feet. "That's what I came here to ask in the first place, baka."

* * *

><p><strong>Kanda is somewhat OOC in this. Oh well. <strong>

**Note – I did not actually reread this, so I don't know if it makes sense. Oops. **

**It is doubtful that I'll get the next one done before November. I'm doing NaNoWriMo again, which means I have absolutely no life for a whole month. I wonder what it says about me that I decide to go and do this madness all over again after experiencing it last year. … And on top of junior-year homework. I might die. **

**Come to think of it, I better not! I've still got, what, 29 of these left? **

… **Jesus Christ. Maybe I will die. **

**- Ruyax**


	22. Laugh

**Gods. It's been, what, two months? Granted, one was NaNo, but still… **

**I am so bad at this. **

**So. Finally got the next one done. While listening to Fall Out Boy. Kind of off-mood, but I don't care. **

**I have to say, I am really pleased with Poison. This one… well, it's shorter than I was hoping for. I like the second part (even though I did my ramble-y thing that doesn't make sense). I was blanking for the first part, and I decided that I didn't care and should just publish it before all of my followers abandon me completely out of irritation. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Laugh<span>

Lavi loves it when he can make Yuu smile. It almost never happens, but when it does, it floods Lavi's heart with joy and the very strong urge to cuddle/tackle the Second Exorcist.

Yuu doesn't really ever laugh. But sometimes, he'll smile. Just a little one, hardly anything. Actually, it's more often a smirk. But it doesn't matter. The realest smiles are most often caused by Lavi. Something he does, something he says, and then just a tiny curve of the lips. That's all a smile is, really. Just some facial muscles contracting in a certain way. But it doesn't matter. Lavi can put aside his Bookman brain and just be happy that Kanda is smiling at him. It feels like he's won a victory against all the darkness inside of Yuu, like he's let in a little ray of light. And that is enough.  
>.<p>

Kanda's back from yet another long mission, this one to Australia. _Never again,_ he thinks as he leaves Komui's office. _I am never going there ever again, no matter what Komui wants. _Australian akuma were very strange creatures. _Maybe it's because they're more secluded? I don't know. And I don't care. The Australian branch can deal with it on their own next time._

Then he sees Lavi, and all of his thoughts evaporate. _This is why I come back. To see _him_._

Lavi is talking to Lenalee. His back is to Kanda, so he doesn't see the Second Exorcist approaching him. Lenalee sees him, though. She smiles and says something to the Bookman Junior. Lavi turns, curiosity on his face. The curiosity vanishes as recognition dawns in his one green eye, and a huge smile breaks out across his face. He goes from plain, normal, to glowing with joy. He's practically oozing happiness, and it makes Kanda want to roll his eyes. _Stupid Bookman._ But that's it, though – he is the Bookman Junior. He is Lavi. He is the person Kanda loves.

And obviously, Lavi loves him back. As the redhead tackles him and nearly knocks him to the ground, the thought runs through Kanda's head that Lavi's smile when he sees him is different from any other. Lavi smiles a lot – it's just a part of him – but for Kanda, it's special.

As Kanda struggles to keep his balance with another person hanging onto him as if for love, growling to _get off me you damn baka_ (but he doesn't mean it, and he knows that Lavi knows that), he knows that Lavi loves him. That smile, that overflowing _joy_, is enough to prove it. And that's all Kanda needs.

* * *

><p><strong>Random note: I mean no disrespect to Australia or Australians. It was the first place that came to mind. I don't even know. <strong>

**You will be pleased (I hope) to know that my new year's resolution is to finish this. So, with luck, these will be done by 2014. … Damn. That's a long way away. I really hope I get these done by then…**

**If anybody cares, I did win NaNo again. So that's something. Sigh. I should just have done these as my NaNovel. **

**- Ruyax**


	23. Sleep

**Oops. Last chapter was called Laugh but I only talked about smiles. Erm. You can tell I wasn't thinking very much…**

**But it's on time (it's still the weekend, okay. It's on time)! I sure hope I can keep doing this. **

**This is similar to Laugh (and a bunch of others) in the way that it's from one's POV and then the other. **

**I hope these aren't getting repetitive…**

Sleep

Kanda's eyes open, and he sits up, rubbing at the sore spot on his back where a book was poking into it. He glances up at the grandfather clock – 4 am. _Sigh._

He is in the library again. Lavi is working late, and Kanda has been struck by insomnia again, so they are back to the same scene that happens so often but that Kanda never tires of: Lavi working at a desk, surrounded by piles and piles of books and papers, half of which were indecipherable to Kanda, and Kanda himself sitting nearby, meditating, with Mugen across his folded legs. A combination of lantern-light and moonlight illuminates the room, casting strange shadows and making things look a little less real than they did in daylight. The scent of old paper and black ink is just barely noticeable. It smells like Lavi.

There is one small difference now – the library is silent. Kanda doesn't hear the sound of Lavi's pen scratching across paper. He glances up.

Lavi is asleep. His head is resting on his folded arms, covering the papers he had been working on earlier. His one eye is closed, and he is breathing softly, slowly. He really is out.

Kanda has to smile. It's so rare to see the hyperactive usagi holding still. But Lavi is fast asleep, and the only movement he makes is the gentle rise and fall of his breath.

Kanda watches the Bookman Junior for a long time. Nothing changes, and nothing has to. He's happy, and he's beginning to think that this is even better than meditation when he falls asleep as well. He only wakes when the sun is fully risen, and it has been the best sleep he has had in a long time.

* * *

><p>One green eye opens. Lavi yawns, and rolls over, ready to burrow back under the covers and sleep for at least four more hours. Except that he's not alone.<p>

When he rolls over, Lavi finds himself nose-to-nose with Yuu. The Bookman smiles softly. _God, I love him._

The samurai was fast asleep, his ridiculously long eyelashes brushing his cheekbones. His lips were slightly parted, his soft breath making Lavi's face tingle. The redhead had to restrain himself from kissing the other. _You'll wake him up. And he definitely could use the sleep._

When he was awake, Yuu always seemed so angry. He would snap and snarl and threaten, and even though he usually didn't go through with the threats, it was best not to push it.

But when he slept, all of the rage slipped away, leaving the samurai looking softer and more fragile and all of the things that Yuu wouldn't be caught dead being if he was awake. But he wasn't, and Lavi wasn't about to wake him up himself. He was just going to sit here quietly and watch his beloved Yuu-chan sleeping, and know that this was as good as it got – midnight, soft rain outside, his love lying by his side, calm and quiet and still, no fear or anger on his face.

Here, now, there was no dying lotus locked in an hourglass. There were no other selves locked inside Lavi's head, no countdown to the time when the forty-ninth would be gone, replaced by an entirely new self. There was no rage, no curse, no Bookman laws, no forced lack of emotions.

Here, now, there was just Lavi and Yuu. The redhead smiles again, his eye drifting closed. Morning will come, like it always does, but for now, he'll enjoy their little moment of peace.

**So… how is it? Review? They'll encourage me to continue being on-time with my updates. Even short ones help. **

**See you all next week (I hope!)**

**Love you all! … Now time for some sleep for me. **

**- Ruyax**


	24. Confession

**Just barely on time! Whew! **

**Only warning: Kanda's language. Just a little bit. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man. (this applies to the last chapter, too. I forgot it.)

* * *

><p><span>Confession<span>

"Uh, Yuu?"

"What."

"Um, I kinda have something to tell you."

"…"

"It's kinda important."

"What is it? And if this is about trying to take you and me and Allen and Lenalee out for ice cream again, forget it. I'm never doing that ever again."

"But it was funny – Well. Er."

"So. What is it that's so important for you to tell me? I'm busy."

"Yuu, you're _meditating._ You're literally doing nothing. But, um, well…"

"Spit it out, usagi."

"I… uh… kinda misplaced Mugen."

"… You _what?_"

"Well, I was, um… kinda messin' with it, and, I, uh… can't remember where I put it."

"…"

"Yuu?"

"You had best start running now, usagi, because _I_ _am going to fucking kill you!_"

* * *

><p><strong>So… I was going to write this as in "confession of love," but then I realized that there is no way I could possibly write that well, and it was too late to consult SilverNightWhisper. So I made this nonsense up instead. <strong>

**I hope it's entertaining. **

**And instead of my normal "no-dialogue-whatsoever" style of writing, this one is only dialogue. … weird. **

**- Ruyax**


	25. Habit

**IT'S STILL THE WEEKEND, OKAY.**

**Ehehe, I remember watching the Grammys last year and writing the first of these. **

… **That is so freaking weird. Good gods, I am so damn slow. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Habit<span>

The train car was silent except for the rushing sound of the wheels beneath it, taking them to a small town that was still almost three hours away.

Bookman had given Lavi a giant pile of papers – as usual, Kanda had no idea what they were for – and had told him to be finished with them by the time he returned or else.

Kanda had read through the mission papers and was now attempting to meditate or sleep. It wasn't like Lavi could ever tell the difference, anyway.

He had almost succeeded in falling asleep when he became aware of an odd tapping sound. The samurai tried to ignore it, but it kept going and kept going and _he was going to kill something._

Amazing how a little noise could get on your nerves so bad.

Kanda opened one eye, searching for the source of the tapping sound so that he could kill it.

He blinked. It was Lavi. _Well, damn. I can't exactly kill _him_._

But he was tapping his fingers against the paper in the most infuriating way possible, and looking like he didn't even notice that he was doing it at all. But if he kept doing it, Kanda would have no choice but to kill him.

"Stop that."

Lavi looked up. "Stop what?"

Kanda growled. "That." he pointed at Lavi's hand, which was still tapping.

Lavi glanced at his hand, and then gave a wicked grin. "No. It helps me focus." His eyes went back down to his work, and his fingers resumed their infernal tapping.

Kanda stared at the Bookman. _Scratch that,_ he thought, _I might just have to kill him this time._ He couldn't think about anything, his mind only noticing the tapping.

_I have to make him stop. But how?_ When Lavi wanted to do something, it was very difficult to get him to do otherwise. How was Kanda going to stop him, aside from cutting off his hand, or his head?

_Got it._ The bluenette smiled to himself. Lavi would never see this coming.  
>.<p>

Lavi wasn't really paying attention to his work. How could Panda-jii expect him to get through all of this, anyway? Wasn't he supposed to be focusing on the mission?

It was kinda funny to make Yuu mad, though. Lavi hadn't even noticed that he was tapping his fingers until Yuu got all pissy about it. So, of course, Lavi had to keep doing it, just to annoy him. It was actually really fun to watch the samurai's eye twitch.

… Aaand Lavi had absolutely no survival instinct. At all. Oh well.  
>.<p>

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The redhead's fingers tap against the side of his book, and the Japanese man on the other side of the car looks ready to strangle him.

Suddenly, without warning, the samurai leans forward and grabs the Bookman Junior's hand, effectively silencing the tapping fingers. Then he leans further forward and kisses the other boy, effectively silencing any protests he might have tried to make. To be honest, though, it doesn't look like the redhead is really protesting. At all.  
>.<p>

Well. Now Lavi knows how to make Kanda kiss him. _Not a bad thing to know, really,_ he thinks as he pulls Yuu closer to him. _Not a bad thing at all._

* * *

><p><strong>Holy baloney. I'm halfway through. <strong>

… **Dammit. I'm halfway through. **

**Does anyone still read these? I'm afraid I'm making them really repetitive or something…**

**- Ruyax**


	26. Photograph

**Aaand we're more than halfway! **

**I wanted to put that in the last chapter, but I forgot. So here we are! Chapter 26 of 50! **

… **Damn. **

**Be prepared for the strange. Because this one is darn weird. And somehow good as well. I don't know. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Photograph<span>

The room is still and silent, except for the soft breathing coming from the sleeping figure in the bed. The half-moon light seeps in through the window and makes a pool on the bare floor.

The room is mostly empty. There is a simple bed – which is occupied – a cheap desk and chair, and a small chest of drawers. The walls and floor are bare, and the entire room is devoid of personal adornment.

The desk is piled with books and papers, the only real sign of humanity in the entire room. They are all written in different languages and codes, and some are so bad as to be nearly illegible anyway. The redheaded man in the bed has ink stains on his fingers, and a smudge of it on his nose. The moonlight illuminates his hair, so that it looks like fire spread out across the pillow. His single eye is closed, and it is still beneath the lid. He does not dream.

.

At first glance, you would not notice it. It is small, only a few inches in length and width, but it tells worlds of a story.

Tucked underneath a sheaf of papers written in Arabic in red ink is a small photograph. It is of two young men, one of whom is holding the camera as well, so it's at a bit of a funny angle.

The camera-holder seems to be the same person as the one who is sleeping in the bed, but there is something deeply different about them. The one in the picture is laughing, trying to get the other man to smile. His one eye is a bright, ebullient green, while the other is covered with a black eye patch. He is wearing a green scale-patterned headband over his red hair, and an orange scarf is wrapped around his neck. The man in the bed doesn't look like he smiles very much; neither does he look like he wears much color.

The other man in the picture is frowning, glaring at the redhead. He's trying to get away, but the other has his arm wrapped around him and doesn't look like he's letting go any time soon. The man is Asian, maybe Japanese, with long blue hair and dark, almost black eyes. He is wearing a tight black sleeveless turtleneck shirt, and there are some strange black marks radiating out from the left side of his chest. They look like tattoos or something. Although he is acting irritated at the redhead trying to take a picture of him, there is something in his eyes, a softness, that suggests that he isn't really angry.

The photograph is worn and battered, and one corner is torn off. It must mean something to its owner, to have kept it for so long. It's just a picture, not even very good quality, but there is something about the way the two men are looking at each other, even in the instant the picture was taken, that suggests that they are more than just friends.

.

Frey Bookman opened his eye. The sun was rising, and that meant that a new day had begun. _I think I'll go down to the docks today,_ he though, sitting up and rubbing at his face. _It's a market day. There will be plenty to observe, and I haven't been there for a while._

He stood and stretched, then began to hunt around for a hair tie. _My hair's getting too long,_ he thought, finally finding one under the bed and pulling his hair back. _I should cut it soon._

As he gathered his things for a day in the busy, crowded docks, Frey noticed something on his desk. He pushed aside the Iraqi prophecy transcription that Ivory had given him the week before, and picked up the battered photograph.

_Huh,_ he thought, examining it. _I didn't know I still had this._ It was always strange to see a picture of yourself when it wasn't you. There were very few pictures of Frey, of course – Bookmen didn't usually have images of themselves – but he had still had the feeling before.

_This is Lavi,_ he thought, looking closer at the pictures as he sat down slowly on the chair. _He was the forty-ninth. The one before me. He was – _a brief search of the mind palace – _an exorcist. Hmm. So who's this?_ Frey ran a finger over the face of the Japanese man standing beside the forty-ninth Bookman alias.

Another scan through his memories revealed that this was Kanda Yuu, a fellow exorcist of the Black Order beside whom Lavi had served. Actually, they were very close. Very. Frey's eyebrows raised slightly. Well, then.

Kanda – _wait, why am I calling him that? He's Yuu _ – no, he's not. Lavi may have loved this exorcist, but to Frey he was nothing but another human being, one of millions. Frey could remember this Kanda having some sort of curse. _That's what the black marks are – the curse was spreading. I doubt he's still alive, especially if you factor in a dangerous career like exorcism._

He felt a pang in his chest, somewhere between pain and longing, and shook his head to clear it. _The compartmentalization is getting leaky. I need to meditate again._

Frey stood, and was about to throw the photograph in the trash when something stopped his hand. _I really do need to meditate,_ he thought, staring at the picture. _Lavi keeps getting out._

It wasn't good for Bookmen to have attachments. Lavi was unwise to let himself become so attached to this other exorcist. Frey really shouldn't be keeping the picture anyway, since it's from another personality of his, and doubly so because that personality did something so foolish as to fall in love.

But still something stayed his hand. After a momentary mental struggle, Frey sighed and slipped the photograph into one of the many books piled on his desk. _I can get rid of it later, once I've solidified the walls of the palace. It doesn't have to be right this moment. It can wait._

As he walked down the busy streets toward the docks, Frey thought to himself. _I wonder why I kept it. Even right after the change, I could have gotten rid of it while I was throwing out all of the things that belonged to Lavi personally. Why didn't I?_

Even as he thought it, the answer was clear in his mind. _Because even though you're Frey and I'm Lavi, there are still some similarities between us, _Lavi says, deep inside the mind palace. _You love Yuu too._

_Love, do I?_ Frey thought, humming to himself. _Do I know how to do that?_

Lavi smiled. _I did. I'm sure you can figure it out, too._

_I'm a Bookman,_ Frey thought, smiling. _I can do anything._ Somehow, that phrase brought to mind a memory, one of his but not his own, of sewing a tear in a green headband while a man with long blue hair watched, with hilarious cat-like movements, his eyes moving up and down in time to the needle's movements.

Frey shook his head. "That's it," he muttered to himself, getting a funny look from an old woman walking by. "As soon as I get home, I'm compartmentalizing as much as possible. I am having a freaking _conversation_ with my _past self_!"

As he finished making his way to the docks, Frey had to admit that, somewhere deep inside him, he kind of liked having a companion. He had a feeling that if he and Lavi had been different people, instead of two personalities in the same body, they would have gotten along very well.

Even though it went against all he knew as a Bookman, Frey thought, _Maybe I'll keep the picture. It's just a photograph, after all._

A picture tells a thousand words. But in this case, it told a whole story, an entire life.

An entire love.

* * *

><p><strong>Bleh. I wanted it to still be on time, so I just kinda blarghed my way through this one. It's supposed to be about how Lavi kept a photograph of him and Kanda even after he changed personalities, but it sort of just went in circles. And squares and curlicues and other weird shapes. But I like Frey. He's more of a proper Bookman than Lavi was, and more serious, but there is still something inherently Lavi about him. <strong>

**Reference to Rip! Yay! **

**Dunno if cameras properly exist in DGM world. Don't really care. **

**Dammit. Couldn't remember if it was mind palace or memory palace. Which is Lavi and which is Sherlock? Are they the same? I just picked one. **

**Actually, this was really hard to write. It was a weird POV and Frey came out of nowhere so I didn't know how to write him. I would be very happy to see what people thought about this one, since it was a totally new thing for me. **

**I think this is one of my favorites. And also one of the longest. Woo. **

**Even if they're screwy and strange and written while I'm half asleep and not really paying attention, I'm really happy that people are still reading these. Your reviews make my day! **

**- Ruyax**


	27. Nightmare

**Sjf;lkajfsklfhshfsfhekshf. I did mark the halfway point on the 25****th**** chapter. Thank you brain, you just made me look like an idiot. Lovely. **

**Sorry about a little late. Real-life stuff going on. Also I'm lazy. Bite me. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Nightmare<span>

Lavi's eyes opened with a small gasp. He sat up slowly and turned to look at the other man lying in the bed, still fast asleep. _It was just a dream. He's still here. _I'm _still here. It was just a dream._

He had dreamed that he had changed personalities again. "Lavi" had disappeared, relocated to the confines of the memory palace. He had left the Black Order, abandoned Yuu as if he was nothing. And however much it hurt him to accept it, he didn't, at least not to the 50th Bookman alias.

_I wish I could say that I would never leave you, the way lovers should, but I know it's not true. In time, I will go away and be replaced by someone who doesn't care about you at all. I don't know whether it will hurt you or me more. I don't think I want to know._

Suddenly, Yuu made a funny yawning noise and opened one eye. "The hell're you doin' up, Lavi?" he asked, still half-asleep.

Lavi shrugged. "Just woke up. It's nothing."

But Yuu knew him too well. "Nightmare." His dark eyes bored into Lavi's green one.

The Bookman sighed, defeated. "Yeah."

Yuu blew out his breath. "Well, it was just a nightmare. Go back to sleep." When Lavi hesitated to lie back down, the samurai gave a long sigh. "Come on." He tugged Lavi down, wrapping his long arms around him. "Just sleep. You're safe." Lavi smiled slightly at the rare show of affection from his usually-stoic boyfriend.

As he began to fall back to sleep, Lavi could feel Yuu's heartbeat against his back. _He's alive, and you're still Lavi. Don't think about when you'll go away. For now, just be happy that you're both here._

_._

Kanda woke so violently that he nearly fell off the bed. _Blood. Fire. Darkness. _A broken hourglasses, a torn green headband, a dead lotus, a dead body.

The samurai tried to stop his shaking. _It was just a dream. Look, he's right next to you, alive and breathing._ He glanced at the bedside table. The lotus was still there, enclosed inside its hourglass. Some petals had fallen, but no more than the last time he had checked. _It was just a dream. You're alive, and so is he._

"Mmf. Wha?" Lavi rolled over, still mostly-asleep. "Yuu. Wha're ya doin'?" He reached up and touched his boyfriend's long blue hair. He glanced at the clock. "'S one in'a mornin', Yuu. Go back t'sleep." He tugged lightly on Kanda's hair, making the samurai growl. The redhead laughed sleepily at him. "Oh, shush. C'mon, I'm not goin' anywhere." He held his arms open, and Kanda reluctantly (okay, maybe not so reluctantly, whatever) crawled into them. Lavi buried his face in Kanda's hair, making a contented noise, and was immediately asleep again.

Kanda sighed. _He's right. Go back to sleep. You're leaving on a long mission tomorrow, and you can't afford to be tired._

It took him a while to fall asleep, but eventually the sound of his lover's heartbeat, strong and steady and _alive_, lulled him back into much better dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>Another bleh. The end was lame. And they were basically two slightly different versions of the same thing. And way short. Ah well. <strong>

**Yey ref to Photograph. I just keep doing this, don't I? **

**Going to sleep now. Bye. **

**- Ruyax**


	28. Freedom

**Sjdflksfsaflieskjd I know I'm like three weeks late and this is absolutely no length at all. I don't even have an excuse. I'm just lazy. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Freedom<span>

Neither one is free.

He is a Second Exorcist. He is not human. His brain belonged to someone else, his body was the Black Order's to control. He cannot die, and he isn't really living. Just mission after mission, over and over until the hourglass runs out and the lotus wilts and he dies, at last.

He is a Bookman. They see everything and feel nothing. They take on personalities as it suits their work, discarding these "selves" as easily as a shirt once the time is up. He belongs to the Bookman order, and is really nothing more than eyes and ears sent out into the world to record. Everything in the world is real and solid, except for him.

.

Neither one is free. They do not belong to themselves – body, mind, or soul, and they never will. They will go on the way they are until they die. That's how it is.

Except that that's not quite true. Sometimes, they can forget that he will die and that he does not really exist.

When they are together, it all falls away, leaving Kanda Yuu and Lavi Bookman to be just the two of them together. No lotus, no other personalities – just one and the other, together. They don't need to speak, don't need to do – just being together is all they need.

When they are together, they can be free.

* * *

><p>… <strong>I'm repeating myself, aren't I? Sigh. Oh well.<br>**

**Next week is spring break. I'll try to get my brain back into DGM and write another few of these (no promises, though – I'm still a lazy girl… sigh.)**

**- Ruyax**


	29. Love

**It's not the weekend any more. I don't care. **

**It's not Valentine's Day. I don't care. **

**It's another shortish, pointless thing. I don't care. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Love<span>

It is the end of a very long day at the Order. There has been an excess of flowers, chocolates, candies, hearts, and red, white, and pink. It is the end of Valentine's Day.

Kanda personally thinks that Valentine's Day is bullshit. He can't stand it.

Lavi, of course, loves Valentine's Day. He loves the food, the energy, everything. And of course he knows that Kanda hates it, so he spends the day following the samurai around, talking all lovey-dovey and trying to feed him little heart-shaped chocolates. And nearly getting his head cut off. But yeah.

Normal Valentine's Day stuff.

Lavi has to admit, he loves watching everyone on Valentine's Day. He's an avid people-watcher anyway – it kinda comes with the whole "being a Bookman" thing, but whatever – but it's even better on Valentine's Day. The relationships, the awkwardness, it's sweet and hilarious and really weird all at once. It's great.

Watching Allen try to fend off his girlfriend's jealous girlfriend's older brother is entertaining. Observing said brother getting dragged away by his own (Australian) boyfriend is even better. Getting to see a stuttering Crowley hand a giant bouquet of flowers to a red-faced Miranda is absolutely adorable.

And then there's Yuu. It's fun to bug him all day, doing dumb stuff just to drive him nuts, but the best part comes in the evening. They've done the same thing for two years already, but it never loses its perfection.

.

Late that night, when people are going to bed, a tall blue-haired man finds a dark navy rose at the door to his room. The thorns are wicked, long and sharp, but the petals are dark and soft, and the bloom is perfectly shaped. He rolls his eyes, but his hands are gentle as he picks it up and carries it inside with him, laying it down gently beside his sword.

At the same time, a redhead pushes his green headband back with a grin when he sees the tiger lily lying in front of his door. The flower is brilliant orange, with dark speckles sprinkled across the insides of the petals. He reaches down and picks it up by its long, dark green stem, the smile growing wider as he examines the bloom. "Love you too," he whispers as he unlocks his room and goes inside.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy not-Valentine's Day. <strong>

**So I basically just did whatever pairings I see a lot and just came to my head first. Don't flip out. **

**Sigh. I hope you liked it. There might be another one up soon. **

**- Ruyax**


	30. Light

**True fact: Ruyax cannot update any more than once a week, if that, even if she has absolutely nothing else to do. **

**Sorry. I'm a lazy butt and I don't write enough. Gah. And this one's short. Also sorry. But I didn't like my original idea for this one, so I had to come up with a new one. Whoops. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Light<span>

Kanda sighed. _Should have guessed he'd be here. The idiot sleeps more often here than in his own damn bed._

Despite the bright morning light spilling into the library, Lavi was fast asleep. There was a splot of dark ink on his nose, and more stained his fingers. He was sprawled out facedown on the table, head resting on his arms, and was snoring softly.

Kanda rolled his eyes. "Usagi. Hey, Usagi." He shook Lavi's shoulder lightly. Nothing except a particularly unattractive snort. "Wake _up_, baka! It's ten o'clock!"

Lavi sat up with a jerk and nearly toppled over, saved only by Kanda's grabbing the back of his chair. "Wha?" he mumbled, rubbing his eye and yawning.

"I said, it's ten o'clock in the morning, you insufferable idiot!" Kanda growled.

Lavi laughed, still yawning. Then he froze. "Wait. What time is it?"

Kanda ground out, "Ten. O. Clock," and Lavi yelped and this time actually fell out of the chair. "Whoashit, Panda-jii's gonna kill me! I can't believe I slept so late!" He leapt up and began trying to gather all of his papers at once, sending most of them to the floor. Kanda rolled his eyes and helped the Bookman Junior get everything into his (immensely heavy) bag. "If you actually went to sleep in a real bed once in a while, you might actually sleep and therefore wake up on time, idiot," he said, handing the last sheaf to the redhead.

Lavi laughed guiltily, swinging the bag onto his shoulder with an ease that belied the immense amount of paper inside it. "I had work to do, so I stayed down here to finish it, and before I knew it…" he sighed. "I stayed up so late waiting for you, Yuu-chan, but I guess you actually fell asleep this time." He made a dramatic sad face.

"Oh, shut up," Kanda said, giving Lavi a shove. "Also, you missed breakfast."

Lavi's face sank. "Damn."

Suddenly, they both heard the very familiar voice of Bookman coming from outside the library. "Where is that dratted apprentice of mine? If he's not done with those translations –"

Lavi's eye widened. "Oh, shit." With a quick peck on Kanda's cheek, the Bookman Junior bolted out the door, and probably collided with someone, judging by the crashing racket and yelling that came from the hallway.

Kanda sighed again. _Stupid usagi. He can deal with that himself._ He turned around and exited the library from a different exit.

* * *

><p><strong>Lame ending. I don't care. It's late and I'm tired. And not especially connected to the prompt. Light. Morning. I dunno. Also sort-of ref to 2 AM. Yippee. <strong>

**Aaand we are now at 30! Only…**

**Twenty…**

**More…**

**Left.**

**Damn. **

**- Ruyax**


	31. Run

**I took the ACT + I couldn't think of a fic for this prompt + prom last week = I didn't do it. **

**And that's why I'm late. **

**This time. **

**Sigh. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

* * *

><p><span>Run<span>

_Okay, that's it. We're done._ Lavi stumbled and nearly fell as he tripped over more rubble. The entire area had been reduced to shattered chunks of cement and craters and heaps of dirt, with splintered trees and shattered glass scattered around as decoration. _We've got to get out of here._

"Yuu!" He glanced around while simultaneously trying not to trip over anything else. _Where is he?_

There. A burst of otherworldly, monstrous insects and an akuma explosion. Lavi went to it, fending off smaller akuma as he ran. Within moments, he and the samurai were almost back-to-back, fire and blue steel lighting up the sky.

"We've got to get out of here!"

Kanda stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. He cut an akuma in half, saying as he did, "We aren't finished yet. We're not leaving."

Lavi growled in frustration. "The Innocence isn't here. There's a ton of akuma, but it was a false trail. There's nothing here. We're losing. Let's go!"

The taller man did not answer, and did not stop talking. Lavi sighed. _Shoulda known._ Kanda was far too stubborn to leave just because there was no reason to stay.

Lavi wasn't stupid. He waited until there was a lull in the fighting, and then grabbed the bluenette's hand and ran.

Kanda made a surprised noise and tried to resist, but not very hard. They had been working hard for days, and the fighting had been long and intense. He would never back down from a fight, but at this point, he would allow Lavi to drag him away.

.

That was how they worked. Lavi was often lazy and didn't wanted to do anything, but Kanda could usually make him do things, either by convincing or threatening. Kanda was stubborn and didn't back down from anything, but somehow Lavi could get him to stop, to turn away, to run. It didn't happen often, but when it did, they both ended up grateful for it.

* * *

><p><strong>Ack bluck I hate it. But I'm three weeks late and it's late, so. Also some inspiration from FightFlight. Sigh. I hope I like the next one better. **

**HOLY SHIT. 10,000 VIEWS? **

**oh my gosh. i'm so happy. you guys, this seriously made my day. i love you all so much. thankyouthankyouthankyou! **

**- Ruyax**


	32. Sunlight

**Wow okay this is late. But classes and stuff are over now, so maybe I'll get back to the one-week-one-chapter routine. **

… **Except I'm leaving for Niagara Falls for two weeks on Friday. So. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Sunshine<span>

Kanda threw himself to the side, rolling across the ground and barely dodging the blow. He sprang to his feet and charged, swinging Mugen silently. His opponent blocked and shoved the blade to the side, lunging for him and swinging. He parried and swung again, but missed and the other man knocked him forward, throwing him to the ground. He rolled over and tried to rise, but the staff's point was at his throat.

The samurai sighed. "Fine, fine. You win. Now get off me." He shoved the staff away from his face and stood, taking his opponent's offered hand to pull himself up.

Lavi laughed, wiping blood from a shallow cut on his cheek. "I got you good that time! Don't 'fine, fine' me!"

Kanda snorted as he sheathed Mugen. "Yeah, sure. But I beat you in the first two rounds, so don't get cocky."

Lavi sighed. He shrank his hammer and tucked it away, then plopped on the ground to readjust his headband, which was falling off. Kanda sat beside him to retie his ponytail. He could feel a bruise developing on his left forearm from where Lavi had whacked him a good one with the staff handle of Ozuchi Kozuchi. Although he had won two rounds to Lavi's one, they had all been pretty close. Infuriating though he was, the Bookman Junior was a good sparring partner.

Beside him, Lavi sighed loudly. "I guess that means I have to start working now," he said despondently, and Kanda had to suppress a smile. Lavi had only been allowed outside because he had promised Bookman that he would get work done after some sparring. Three rounds had been what he had gotten.

After a few minutes, they were settled. Lavi had arranged about ten books and two reams of paper around him, with various writing instruments and notes scattered throughout. Kanda sat beside him, legs crossed with Mugen balanced on top, preparing for a long meditation. Without speaking, they both began.

.

When Kanda opened his eyes, the sun was nearly setting. He sat up and spotted Lavi, still where he had been hours before. Except now he was asleep.

The Bookman Junior was slumped over his work, snoring softly. A bottle of ink had spilled on a few papers, and Kanda had to hope that they weren't important. He knew how little sleep Lavi had been getting in the past week because of his work, on top of having been on a long, difficult mission before that.

He was tempted to carry the redhead back to the Order, but resisted the urge. He couldn't carry both the Bookman and all the papers and things, Lavi would probably wake up, and it didn't suit his image. No matter what Lavi did to break down his walls, he only let them down when they were alone. Carrying the man back to the Order, which was full of people, did not fit the description.

Instead, he reached over and tugged on a lock of the Bookman Junior's flaming red hair. "Hey. Lavi. Usagi. Wake up. Lavi. _Lavi._"

The man snorted, sitting up so fast that he collided heads with Kanda, sending them both to the ground. Kanda clutched his face, swearing muffledly, while Lavi lay flat on his back, holding his nose. "'Kay, kay, I'm ub, whadda yu wann?" he said, his voice going funny because of his nose.

Kanda sat up, still rubbing his forehead. "Look how late it is, baka. We must have lost track of time. And you fell asleep."

"Oh." Then Lavi looked at the sun. "Shit! Gramps is gonna kill me!" He scrambled to his feet, throwing the books and papers haphazardly back into his bag. Kanda waited for him, watching amusedly as the Bookman Junior tore a sheet and swore loudly. "You spilled ink on some of those," he noted helpfully, and Lavi swore some more.

Finally, everything was back in the bag. Kanda gave Lavi his hand, and together they went back to the Black Order.

* * *

><p><strong>So. I only just realized that this chapter doesn't mention sunlight at all. Um. The original idea was to have Lavi and Kanda spar and then fall asleep in the sun (haha, it's raining so hard right now you wouldn't believe it), but… yeah. It kinda went its own way. Oops. <strong>

**Also did some cleanup on old chapters – formatting and stuff. Been meaning to do that for a while…**

**Review if you like. It makes me happy, bad writer that I am. **

**See you eventually… **

**- Ruyax**


	33. Hidden

**Wow. It's been, what, a month since I last updated this? **

… **Writer's block or laziness; take your pick. **

**Like far too many of the past few of these stories, this is kind of blargh. But I wrote it. So I just decided to hell with it and just post the dumb thing already. It kinda went off-track from the original idea, but oh well. **

**I dunno. Something about having to hide part of who you are because of the dangers revealing it can pose to you and/or to those you love. Not exactly sure what I'm trying to say here. Draw your own meaning, I guess. **

**This is especially weird compared to the last story. Bluh. Oh well. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Hidden<span>

They've been together for so long. It hadn't taken much time between Lavi and Bookman joining the Order and Lavi and Kanda falling in love. Lavi claims that it was love at first sight, and that he was just unsure about how Kanda felt, but Kanda doesn't know. At first, he had really hated the idiotic Bookman Junior who had appeared out of nowhere to join the Black Order, seemingly with the express instructions to drive Kanda Yuu completely insane. Somehow, though, he had ended up kind of liking the redhead, which had slowly developed into more than just "like."

It was good. It was really, really good. But not everyone was as accepting as their friends, and sometimes they had to keep their love a secret.

It's not just that they are both male, although for some that was where the problem started and ended. But there was more to it.

Kanda was a Second Exorcist, an experiment. Cursed and blessed to be stronger, faster, better, but with an abbreviated lifespan as the counterbalance. The lotus petals fell, and his end grew nearer. He belonged to the Order, body, mind, and soul, and had no room in his falsified lifespan for anything or anyone else. At least, that was what was supposed to be true.

Lavi was a Bookman. Lavi himself was just a personality, his forty-ninth at that. Sooner or later, it would be discarded and he would take on a new one, and abandon any and all attachments the previous self may have formed. He was currently with the Order, but in a detached way, using it as a way to document history the way the Bookmen do, and not for any personal reasons. He had no connections to people nor places nor things, and when the time came to move on, he would do so without caring or being emotional, because Bookmen did not have emotions. At least, that was what was supposed to be true.

It wasn't. Lavi and Kanda were in love. That one thing, so simple but so complex, could get Kanda killed for being incompetent and not as emotionless as he was supposed to be, and could get Lavi at the least taken out of the order and given a new personality, or at worst in serious danger with the Bookmen, who might decide that a Bookman who had fallen to emotion was of no use to them.

And so they lived a sort of half-life. A half-life that mirrored Kanda's physical curse-enhanced, lifespan-shortened one and Lavi's emotional Bookman life, restricted and cut off from natural human attachments and feelings. They were in love, and it was one of the best things that had ever happened to either of them, but because of who they were, they could not be free.

But really, when had they ever been free? Kanda had been created as a perfect soldier, albeit with a nearer expiration date, and Lavi had been a Bookman for so many years he could hardly remember being anything else. They were not free, not in anything. Whether that made it easier or harder to not be free in love, who knew? It was their life.

They lived their lives day-to-day, never knowing when one or both might die in battle, or when Kanda's time might be up, the last lotus petal fall and a life come to an end, or when Lavi might leave the Order with no warning to become a new person who would not know or care about an exorcist named Kanda Yuu.

It was a moment-to-moment life, a moment-to-moment love, but they would not trade it for anything.

* * *

><p><strong>I've been having a lot of trouble writing these recently, and have lost a lot of my motivation. This does not mean that I will drop it. I will do my best to keep up the one-story-a-week deal, but who knows. Reviews help greatly with motivation. <strong>

**Thank you all for sticking with this story, no matter whether you've been with it from chapter one or just noticed it. The only reason I'm still writing these is for you. You guys are great. **

**- Ruyax**


	34. Marshmallows

**Gah. **

* * *

><p><span>Marshmallows<span>

"You've never had marshmallows?!"

Lavi stared at the other man, flabbergasted. Kanda stared flatly back. "No." He frowned a little more. "I don't even know what they are."

Lavi looked like he might faint, then shook his head hard. "No. No, no, and no, this is totally not acceptable. I mean, come on, Yuu, you've never lived until you've had marshmallows!"

"I really, really doubt that," Kanda said, but was interrupted. "You stay right here," Lavi said, "and I'll go buy us some marshmallows. Don't go anywhere, got it?" Kanda rolled his eyes, but knew that it was really pretty useless arguing with the baka. He would just laugh it off and do whatever he was going to do anyway.

"Stay," Lavi said, like Kanda was a dog, and the samurai nearly beheaded him with Mugen. He might have succeeded, but the usage took off before he could quite reach him, slamming the door behind him.

Kanda sighed. Hopefully, this thing with the marshmallows would be over soon and they could get back to working on the mission, which was the actual reason they were here. Not marshmallows.

Whatever they were.

.

Marshmallows were… strange. Not bad. Weird, definitely. But not bad.

Lavi looked like he was in idiot heaven. He had marshmallow on his nose and had eaten at least eight… what were they again? Snoozes. No. Snores. No. S'mores. Yes. That one. S'mores. Lavi was inhaling them like they were the last bits of air left on earth. Kanda had had two, but good as they were, they were difficult to eat and he really, _really_ did not want marshmallow in his hair.

"So." Lavi sat forward, fixing Kanda with a stare. The samurai stared back. "Whaddaya think?"

"… What?"

The green eye rolled. "The _marshmallows,_ silly! Do you like 'em?"

"…" Kanda thought. "They're… okay."

The Bookman junior's face lit up. "You do?"

Kanda glared at him. "You just fed me a food that you didn't think I'd like?"

Lavi laughed. "The only food I know that you like is soba. Anything else is a shot in the dark."

Kanda had nothing to say to that.

They stayed there for a while, talking about anything and nothing and although a part of Kanda's mind stayed alert – they were in the middle of a mountain forest, anything could happen – the rest of him relaxed a little. Nighttime, full moon, flickering fire, Lavi and a whole lot of marshmallows. Not bad, as far as missions go.

* * *

><p><strong>So much time, such a short oneshot. I'm sorry. <strong>

**I like this one a bit better, though. I hope you do, too. **

**- Ruyax**


	35. Bones

**Wow. It's been what, like four months? More? **

**I am a terrible person. But I had NaNo and homework and blah blah blah excuses I lost motivation but here's another thingy I don't know if I'll ever get this done. **

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

><p><span>Bones<span>

It was a well-known fact that Kanda hated working with other people. He mostly tolerated Lenalee (partially because Komui would probably throw him off a cliff if he didn't, but also because she was a capable exorcist and knew how to not drive Kanda crazy), he put up with Allen sometimes (_sometimes_), and he often worked with Lavi because they were good partners and… okay, fine, he _did_ like the rabbit. Sometimes. If he wasn't being a complete and total idiot. Which was rare. _Very_ rare. But yes, he put up with Lavi, too.

It wasn't often that Kanda was made to work with anyone else, mostly because Komui knew that putting another exorcist with the Japanese man was flirting with death, both for himself and the poor exorcist.

But this time it was unavoidable. Really. This was more than a two-exorcist mission, and too many others were busy. So he was forced to send Kanda and Lavi out, along with a third exorcist named Rosa Charimi, a lovely lady whose Innocence took the form of long blue-white silks – the slightest brush would char an akuma half to death. She was nice, polite, but she could stand her ground and wouldn't shy away from Kanda's brusqueness. A competent woman to accompany two competent (if slightly idiotic at times) men.

As Komui watched the trio depart (he could feel Kanda grumping from here), he hoped that the mission would go well and all three would return safe and sound with a new piece of Innocence. If anyone besides Lenalee, Allen, and Lavi could tolerate Kanda, it would be Rosa.

.

_two weeks later_

Two men sat beside a coffin. The sun had long set, but the redhead had not moved from his spot next to the box of dark wood, and the blue-haired man had not left him.

They had been silent for hours, but suddenly Lavi spoke. "I've seen a lot of death rituals," he said quietly, "but the Order's is one of the strangest."

Kanda was not a world-traveled Bookman with a perfect memory, but he knew what Lavi meant.

The coffin was empty. A sprinkling of dust covered the bottom of it, but that was all. That was all that was left of the exorcist Rosa Charimi. Akuma bullets don't leave much to bury. Her Innocence was already gone, deactivated from its akuma-killing silk form and returned to Hevlaska, along with the piece of Innocence retrieved from the mission. Successful in Innocence-finding, unsuccessful in keeping all three exorcists alive.

"We all die."

Kanda glanced down at Lavi. The Bookman Junior had a pensive look on his face, his single green eye staring at Rosa's coffin.

Lavi continued. "We all die, but we're all afraid of it. Humans will do anything to stay alive. There are so many ways to die, but they all end the same way." He took a breath. "'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.' But only akuma take you all the way."

Kanda frowned. Lavi had been in a weird mood ever since Rosa had died, taking on the five Level Twos with Kanda while Lavi tried to get to the Innocence, buried at the bottom of a riverhead. Kanda had seen the bullet coming, but he was too far away and by the time he reached the other exorcist, she was gone, leaving only dust. He had been forced to fight the akuma alone, the monsters even more persistent now that there were two pieces of Innocence free for the taking, if they could just get past the two exorcists.

Thankfully, Lavi had come up around then with the Innocence, and helped him bring the remaining akuma down. But then he had seen the remains of Rosa, and any joy over the success of the mission had been destroyed.

Rosa Charimi was dead. She was not the first to be killed by akuma, turned to dust with nothing left to say who she had been or what she had done, and she would not be the last.

"Yeah, we're all going to die." Kanda's voice was loud and harsh in the deathly silence. "We're exorcists. We're going to die, and it's probably going to be an akuma that kills us. There won't be anything left of us, just dust. No blood, no heart, no bones. Dust. If we're lucky, somebody will take some of that dust and carry it back to the Order so they can put it in a box and have a funeral and pretend it means something. And our weapons will go back to being little blocks of stuff and be returned to Hevlaska for someone else to take and turn into a weapon, and then they'll die too.

"We all die. But there's some living in there, too. We aren't dead yet, baka."

Lavi took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Yeah. We aren't." He stood, joints cracking after so much time spent sitting still. "Let's go."

.

When the two Finders came to collect Rosa Charimi's coffin the next morning, the room was empty, cold and silent. But on the lid of the coffin lay a single rose, its petals white as silk.

Hevlaska cradled her fragments of Innocence and dreamed of a beautiful dancer, carrying death in her hands but graceful as a falcon.

* * *

><p>… <strong>does anybody even still read this. Who knows. Bluck writing. <strong>

**Also GDI DGM WHY IS THERE NO MORE CHAPTERS EVER AT ALL. I mean I understand that the author is having problems and I want her to get better but WHY CAN'T I READ MORE DGMMMMMMMMMM.**

**(sorry.)**

**- Ruyax**


End file.
